Pause For Thought
by Catindahat
Summary: Arthur doesn't appreciate Merlin, Merlin is sick of Arthur's mood swings, and the boys' relationship is at breaking point. Looks like it's time for some magical intervention to help them understand each other and realise what they've been missing.
1. Chapter 1

**This is just an idea I've written the first chapter for. I don't know if it's any good so please tell me if you like it and I'll continue it. Thanks. The Italics are the character's thoughts.**

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"You idiot!" Arthur exclaimed looking at the mess his servant had once again made, "What did I tell you? I needed this ready yesterday! And how do you expect anyone to find anything in this room!"

Arthur swept his arm round and took in the mess that was his chambers. He had told Merlin to tidy it days ago but it still hadn't been done. Arthur was fuming. How hard could it be to do this one little job and Merlin still managed to mess it up. Arthur spent all day taking care of Camelot the least he should be entitled to was a tidy room and a change of clothes when he got back. Honestly, it wasn't like Merlin had anything better to do all day.

Merlin stood by the door taking Arthur abuse as normal. After working for Arthur for this long Merlin was used to his mood swings. Uther had been going on at Arthur all day and Merlin knew he was just taking his frustration out on him and didn't really mean it. And it was partly his fault, he had meant to tidy his room days ago but work had just piled up. Between Arthur's demands and Gaius tasks Merlin never had a free moment and Arthur's room had slipped his mind. He closed his eyes and tried to let Arthur's words wash over him as normal however he was having trouble blocking them out.

"And I mean seriously Merlin, could you be anymore incompetent? All I ask of you is this one little thing and you can't even get that right!" Arthur bellowed at Merlin.

Merlin's patience was at breaking point. He had endured weeks of this. Arthur's general mood seemed to be getting worse by the day and Merlin was getting sick of being Arthur's release. Day after day he had to listen to Arthur's rants and being unappreciated by him was driving Merlin insane. He tried again to block him out by thinking of anything else but Arthur's words were cutting him deeper today than most. Finally he lost control and just snapped.

"All you ask of me? You think that tidying your poxy room is the most important thing I have to do? All day I attend to your every whim without once being thanked and you have the nerve to stand there day after day and say I do nothing but mess things up! I miss one small thing and I'm the most useless servant in the castle despite the hundreds of things I get right! You would be screwed without me; you can't even pick an outfit without throwing everything across your room!"

Merlin was shouting back at Arthur by this point, who was looking stunned at Merlin's outburst. Merlin was shaking with anger and after the initial shock Arthur's anger had reappeared too.

"Please, you think your job is hard? I have to run a kingdom. You mess up and the only person to suffer is me! I mess up and it could ruin the lives of countless people in Camelot! You have it easy no responsibilities, no pressure, nothing!"

"No responsibilities? You think if I mess up no one suffers? I have hundreds of jobs for Gaius to do and if they don't get done people could lose access to their medicine! And on top of that I have all the jobs I do around here not to mention everything I do for you! I haven't had a proper night's sleep in as long as I can remember! You think there is no pressure in my life? I have you on one side and Gaius on the other both piling on the pressure. Because God forbid I'd ever want to have a life of my own!"

By this point they were both screaming at each other. Neither listening to what the other had to say. Insults were flying across the room and their tempers were heating up. They were stood inches apart, shouting insults at each other.

"Prat!"

"Buffoon!"

"Stuck up idiot!"

"Useless, big eared fool!"

Both men were close to blows when a rumbling noise made them pause. The both looked round in confusion for the source of the noise. Not long after, the noise came again, but this time it was accompanied by a tremor that shook the whole room. Arthur and Merlin, fight forgotten, clung to each other trying to keep their balance. The tremor intensified, throwing them apart. Merlin grabbed hold of the table while Arthur was thrown back onto his bed.

After being thrown around for several minutes the tremor died away leaving carnage in its wake. The room, which had been a mess to begin with, was in turmoil. Furniture was strewn everywhere and all Arthur's belongings were scattered across the floor. Arthur himself was slumped on the floor, having been thrown off his bed, stunned by the shake. Merlin was lying by the upturned table having curled into a ball; he had given up trying to stay upright and had just tried to protect himself from flying debris.

The pair eventually got up slowly, looking around in confusion. Merlin had experienced earthquakes at home but never one that strong. And as far as Arthur knew there had never been a quake in Camelot. He strode across to the door, pulling it open to see a couple of guards walking past.

"What caused that quake?" He demanded of the bemused guards.

"Quake?" They asked, looking at each other in confusion, "What quake Sire?"

Arthur looked at them in disbelief.

"That massive earthquake just a minute ago you fools. Don't tell me you didn't feel it."

Arthur didn't understand how these guards could not know what he was talking about. A quake like that would have caused uproar in Camelot and he needed to know what was going on. However the guards continued to look at him mystified. Arthur looked down the hallway expecting to see it in as much disarray as his room but it looked unaffected. He looked down the other way, convinced his eyes were playing tricks on him, to see the same tidy hall as always.

"There was no quake My Lord." One of the guards said kindly, clearly convinced the prince was going insane.

"Never mind." He muttered turning back into his room and shutting the door in their faces.

He knew he'd left them utterly confused and probably worried about his mental state but he was too bewildered to care. He slammed the door shut and turned to face Merlin who was picking himself up off the ground, looking as puzzled as Arthur. Both boys glanced round at the trashed room, unsure what to do next. The anger they had both been feeling had died away.

"Well that was weird." Merlin spoke, breaking the silence, "The guards definitely didn't feel anything?"

"No, they thought I was going insane." Arthur replied slowly.

"Well then I think we can say that the quake only happened in here." Merlin said slowly.

He had an idea of what had happened but was unsure how the other boy was going to take it. Arthur was still looking completely confused and had clearly not made the connection Merlin had.

"But that's not even possible. How can there be a quake only in this room." Realisation dawned on Arthur, "It was magic."

_Man he's slow today. _Merlin thought.

"I heard that." Arthur barked, "I am NOT slow!"

Merlin frowned at Arthur's words. He was sure he hadn't said anything out loud but Arthur seemed to have heard what he was thinking.

"What are you talking about? I didn't say anything."

"Yes you did. You said I was slow today." Arthur replied outraged.

A seed of doubt crept into Merlin's mind. Maybe he had spoken out loud.

_Honestly, could he be any more of an idiot. _

"Hey! I'm not an idiot!" It was Merlin's turn to be outraged by Arthur's words.

"I never said you were." Arthur replied perplexed, he defiantly hadn't said anything. He had been thinking about what an idiot Merlin was for not realising he had spoken aloud; though it turns out he was not the only one doing it

"Yes you did. You called me an idiot and I am sick of your insults." Merlin sank down into the only chair left standing with a sigh.

Merlin and Arthur just looked at each other bemused. They weren't really in the mood to argue anymore. Both boys felt dazed by the events.

_Something weird is going on here. _Merlin thought.

_You can say that again. _Came Arthur's reply.

_That earthquake wasn't natural; something's defiantly going on here._

_Yeah, and I bet it's got something to do with magic._

Both boys sat in silence, trying to comprehend what was happening. Magic was definitely involved somehow and Merlin was convinced that it had caused the earthquake. But why would any sorcerer want to create an earthquake in Arthur's chambers that only affected them.

Realisation suddenly hit them both and they looked up at each other with identical looks of shock on their faces.

_I didn't say anything out loud, did you? _Merlin thought.

_No. What is going on? _Arthur thought back.

They both came to the only conclusion at the same time.

_I can hear your thoughts! _

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**Please tell me what you think and if you'd like me to continue.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Due to popular demand I have decided to continue this story. Huge hugs to everyone who reviewed I was insanely happy by the amount I received. I'm not really sure if this chapter is any good so once again I'd really like to know what you think. Also I am just making this up as I go along so if anyone has any ideas I'd really like to know. Enjoy. As before italics are their thoughts.**

**I have re-posted this chapter with some adjustments to the spelling. Thanks to Me-against-the-world for spotting my mistakes. So if you've already read this chapter there is nothing new and you can just skip ahead to the next chapter, I should be posting it in a mo. Thanks.**

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Previously

_I didn't say anything out loud, did you? _Merlin thought.

_No. What is going on? _Arthur thought back.

They both came to the only conclusion at the same time.

_I can hear your thoughts! _

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Both boys froze, looking at each other fearfully. Neither knew what was going on which worried them greatly. Arthur looked the most scared Merlin had ever seen him. He had backed into the corner of the room and was looking at Merlin as if he was going to jump up and attack him.

Arthur didn't understand what was going on. He had devoted his life to the fight against magic and seen it used in so many ways but he had never had it used against him this personally. And, as much as it pained him to admit it, he was scared.

Merlin heard everything Arthur had just thought, especially that he was scared. Arthur's fear amplified his own. Seeing Arthur like this scared him more than any act of magic could. Arthur had always been the strong one and Merlin had never seen him this vulnerable. However, on reflection he had never been inside Arthur's head before and so for all Merlin knew he could feel like this a lot of the time.

"What the hell is going on?" Arthur whispered.

He knew Merlin could hear him thinking it but he decided that if he ignored it, it might go away.

"I don't know. But it sure is weird." Merlin laughed hollowly, trying to make light of the situation.

Merlin watched as Arthur moved forward and picked up the other chair which was lying on the floor. He sank down into it opposite Merlin and placed his head in his hands.

"What are we going to do Merlin?" Arthur looked up at him, "Oh God you can hear my thoughts."

Realisation of the true extent of the situation hit Arthur. He immediately tried to block out his most embarrassing memories which just resulted in them flashing across his mind. Merlin chuckled as images of Arthur falling of horses, landing in dung and generally making a fool of himself flashed through his mind. Arthur glared at the other boy, who seemed to be enjoying the situation way too much, and tried to delve into Merlin's mind and find some embarrassing memories of his.

Unfortunately for Arthur Merlin seemed to be better at hiding his thoughts. He found that by concentrating on Arthur's memories he could block out his own, much to Arthur's distain. Arthur retreated back into own mind and tried to find some other way to distract Merlin from rifling through his embarrassing thoughts.

"Seriously Merlin, what are we going to do?" Arthur asked again, managing to distract Merlin from his memories.

"I don't know." Merlin replied. _You're the prince, you think of something._

"Don't do that." Arthur growled putting his hands over his ears, trying to block out Merlin's thoughts.

"Sorry." Merlin muttered with a smile.

He thought he'd better stop messing around and concentrate on finding out what was happening to them.

"Yeah you better have. You are enjoying this way too much." Arthur snapped at him.

Merlin flushed, he had forgotten Arthur now knew everything he was thinking.

"Right," He said flustered, "Well I recon the earthquake and this mind reading thing are related."

Arthur looked at him blankly.

"Why? For all we know it could be a coincidence."

"You think it's a coincidence that an earthquake that only affects us happens moments before we suddenly start hearing each other's thoughts?"

Arthur had to admit that the odds of that happening were pretty slim. He sighed; it seemed Merlin was occasionally smarter than he looked.

"Thank you Sire." Merlin said with a grin.

Arthur pulled a face at him then sat up seriously.

"Right, we need a plan. First of all we need to find out who did this to us. Then we need to find a way to fix this." Arthur instructed sounding more in control now. "And we definitelyneed to make sure no one else finds out about this. If word of this gets to my father he is going to go mad and probably start executing people at random till it goes away. And by we I mean you"

Merlin was slightlytaken aback by the bitter tone in Arthur's voice at the mention of his father's actions. It gave him hope that maybe Arthur was realising what a mistake his father was making. He rolled his eyes however at Arthur's last comment, hoping he hadn't heard his thoughts about Uther.

"Well I can see if Gaius knows if anything like this has ever happened before. If there is a way to fix this he'll have a record of it in one of his books." Merlin suggested.

He got up and made started to leave when Arthur called him back.

"Merlin?"

He turned back to face the prince.

_Don't tell a soul._

_Don't worry Arthur I'm not a complete idiot._

Arthur snorted at Merlin's thought but turned away from the other boy as he hurried out the door. Arthur surveyed his room, which was still a mess and realised that Merlin had once again avoided tidying it.

_I'm not avoiding it! Don't you think we have bigger things to worry about than the state of your room?_

Arthur sighed as he heard Merlin's thought. It seemed that this thing had a greater range than he'd thought.

_Just hurry up and find a way to fix this. _Arthur thought back, _Before it gets any worse._

_How could this get any worse? _Merlin thought as he hurried down a dark set of steps that definitely did not lead to Gaius's quarters.

---

Merlin stood there impatiently, waiting for the dragon to stop laughing. He had told him about the events of that morning and the dragon had been laughing for the last couple of minutes.

"Yes I get it this is hilarious." Merlin said sarcastically, "But can you fix it?"

"You can read each other's minds." The dragon chuckled, "You have a secret that will kill you if anyone finds out and now Arthur knows everything you are thinking."

"You think I don't know this? My life hangs in the balance here, if Arthur finds out what I can do he'll have me killed, and all you can do is laugh."

"I'm sorry young warlock but you must see the irony of this situation." The dragon suddenly sobered, "I cannot reverse this spell however."

Merlin felt his last shred of hope fade. If the dragon didn't know how to reverse it then they were in deep trouble.

"Now did I say I didn't know how to reverse it? I just said _I _couldn't do it." The dragon said as if he had read Merlin's thoughts.

"Great. Can everyone hear what I'm thinking now?"

"Warlock I have always been able to hear your thoughts."

That unnerved Merlin as the thought of Arthur in his head was bad enough, but to have the dragon hearing his thoughts too was unsettling.

"Do not fear I cannot access your deepest thoughts without your permission." The dragon boomed, "But the answer you seek is harder to find than most. There is strong magic at work here but it is not without its reasons."

"No offence but I haven't really got time for the cryptic messages. If Arthur sees that I am down here it would be disastrous for both of us. So can you just tell me what you know in English for once?"

"Patience is a virtue you must learn young warlock. You cannot rush wisdom. Understanding will come in its own time." The dragon noticed the impatient look on Merlin's face, "But have no fear Arthur will not discover where you are."

Merlin frowned at the dragon, unsure what he was trying to tell him. The dragon sighed at Merlin's confused expression.

"Concentrate, can you hear Arthur now?"

Merlin closed his eyes and listened for his thoughts. He had been trying to block Arthur out since he had left his chambers but now he concentrated on looking for the prince's thoughts. However his mind seemed to be his own at that moment. After the combination of his and Arthur's thoughts, the quiet was overwhelming.

He opened his eyes and peered at the dragon, his confusion growing.

"No I can't. But I thought you said you couldn't reverse it?"

"I cannot, however I can block the bond when you are in my presence. But anyway I doubt the prince would notice if I hadn't, he is preoccupied with his own thoughts."

"Are you spying on everyone?" Merlin asked disapprovingly.

"Do not look at me like that young warlock. If you kept your promise to set me free I would not haveto amuse myself this way." The dragon growled angrily.

"I will set you free. But first I must sort this mess out."

"Fine but be warned, my patience wears thin. There is no spell you can use to lift this. Only the sorceress who cast the spell can lift it. But she will not have cast it in the first place without reason. You may need to discover the reason before she will lift the spell."

"Wait a woman cast this spell? Who?" Merlin asked intrigued.

"That I cannot tell you. But if you are concentrating you will know her when you meet again. When she connected you and Arthur she unwittingly linked herself to the two of you as well. It is not as strong as your bond with Arthur but if you are paying attention you will recognise her."

"I've met her before? Where? When? Is she still in Camelot?"

"Your questions bore me. I will not tell you anymore. You must learn to discover things without my help."

"But my magic!" Merlin shouted frantically as the dragon spread his wings, about to leave, "How can I hide it from Arthur? If he finds out my life will be at risk. Can you show me how to stop this?"

The dragon settled back down at looked at Merlin with what he thought may have been a smile, though it was hard to tell with the dragon.

"That young warlock, I can do."


	3. Chapter 3

**Hugs once again to everyone who reviewed, I love you all. So I finally think I know where I'm going with this, sort of. Also I'm thinking off possibly some slash in later chapters, I'd really like to know what you think. Thanks once again and please review. Enjoy. x**

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Previously

"But my magic!" Merlin shouted frantically as the dragon spread his wings, about to leave, "How can I hide it from Arthur? If he finds out my life will be at risk. Can you show me how to stop this?"

The dragon settled back down at looked at Merlin with what he thought may have been a smile, though it was hard to tell with the dragon.

"That young warlock, I can do."

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Merlin wondered down the corridor happily. He hadn't found any solutions to their problem but at least he knew his secret was safe. The dragon had said that Arthur wouldn't hear any of his thoughts related to magic so he was ok. He had also shown him simpler ways to hide some of his thoughts so hopefully he wouldn't be spilling any of his other secrets from now on. And if he taught them to Arthur then he might have to suffer less of the prince's thoughts.

Merlin all but skipped down the corridor towards where he knew Gaius would be preparing potions.

_What are you so happy about? _Came the intruding thought in his head.

_Arthur, _He sighed, _I thought you were trying to ignore this?_

_I am but it doesn't seem to be working so I was trying to see what's taking you so long. So what's with the happy vibes? Have you found out how to fix this?_

_Yes. _Merlin thought apprehensively, knowing that despite the relief Arthur was feeling at his thought he wasn't going to like the answer. _But you're not going to like it. We have to find the sorceress who did this._

_Great, a nice simple solution then. Wait it's a woman? _

_Yeah that's what I thought. But it seems that we have to find her if we want to stop this._

_Right. Well I hate communicating like this. Come back to my chambers and we'll come up with a plan._

Merlin sighed. Arthur was back to his bossy self so he must be getting used to it. Merlin dithered on the way to Arthur's rooms, not really wanting to have Arthur pile a whole lot more jobs on him.

_NOW Merlin! _Came the demanding voice in his head.

Merlin groaned, this stupid bond meant that Arthur could now order him around wherever he was. His heart sank at the prospect of ten times more work in the future. This, along with his destiny and finding a way to reverse this, meant he couldn't see a free moment anywhere in his future. At least his secret was safe, that was a comfort. He set off towards Arthur's chambers, grumbling insults to Arthur in his head.

---

However Merlin wasn't the only one with secrets to hide. Arthur was pacing in his room, pondering his own secret. He had been listening to Merlin's thoughts and, satisfied that he was distracted insulting him, Arthur had turned to ponder his own secrets.

He knew that if Merlin ever found out what he was hiding it would be disastrous. He had trouble admitting it to himself and sometimes he would lie awake at night, denying it adamantly. But it was true, he couldn't refute it. He...

---

Merlin entered Arthur's chambers to see him pacing in front of the window distractedly. He frowned and concentrated on Arthur's thoughts, trying to see what was bothering him. However Arthur realised what he was doing and clamped down on his thoughts, spinning round to face him furiously.

"Don't!" He warned angrily and Merlin retreated out of Arthur's head.

"Sorry." He mumbled looking down and scuffing his shoes.

Arthur sighed. It wasn't Merlin's fault he was feeling so on edge and he probably shouldn't be taking it out on him.

"No you should." Merlin replied, "Your usual insults are bad enough without you loading your frustration on me too."

Arthur gaped at him blankly.

"I can hear what you're thinking remember." Merlin prompted him.

"Ugh, don't remind me." He sighed, "So what did you find out."

"Well it was definitely a woman who did this. And there is no way to break it other than finding her and getting her to remove it."

Arthur frowned at this news.

"But how do you know it's a woman." He said, uncomfortable that a mere woman could have caused him so much trouble.

Arthur's frown deepened as he felt unease seep through their bond.

"Well Gaius's books say it can only be done by a woman." Merlin replies not meeting his gaze.

Arthur looked at Merlin suspiciously and saw him squirm under his gaze. He was definitely lying. Even without the bond Arthur could tell he was hiding something, Merlin had never been any good at lying. Arthur debated looking deeper into his thoughts to find out what he was hiding. But if he intruded then there was nothing to stop Merlin looking at his thoughts, and Arthur could not have that.

"Fine." He said with a dismissive wave of his hand, "What else did you find out?"

"Well only she can undo it." Merlin continued relieved, "But this spell can't be cast without a reason and we might need to find out what it is before she'll fix it."

"Great," Arthur muttered, "Now we have to work out the twisted reasons behind a sorceress's actions."

"However we will know who it is when we find her." Merlin continued as if Arthur harsh words hadn't affected him, "Apparently, when you bond two minds together the sorceress's mind is also bonded with them, though not as strongly. As long as we are concentrating on finding her we will know her when we meet."

"But she could be anywhere by now! How are we going to find her?"

"I don't think she will have gone far. If she had a reason for all this then surely she would stick around to see if it's fulfilled."

Arthur looked at Merlin strangely.

_What?_ Merlin thought, hoping the mind link would make Arthur uncomfortable enough to back off.

Unfortunately it didn't.

_Nothing. _He thought back. _You just seemed to be making a lot of sense for the first time in a long while. It's very unlike you._

"You know me Sire, always the brains of the operation." Merlin joked trying to make light of the situation.

The intense look Arthur was giving him was making him uncomfortable and, as much as he disliked lying to Arthur, there was no way he could tell him how he knew so much.

"You should probably thank Gaius anyway; it was his books I got all this from."

Merlin continued speaking out loud, hoping it would make his nervousness harder to detect. It didn't, but Arthur decided to drop it anyway as everyone was entitled to their secrets.

"So," Arthur continued out loud, "There is definitely no way to stop you hearing my every thought till we find the sorceress?"

"Nope." Merlin said brightening up, too much for Arthur's liking, "Well I do know how to hide your deep secrets so I can't discover them as long as you don't want me to."

Arthur looked back at Merlin in surprise. This was the last thing he had been expecting. He moved forward and, ignoring the table and chairs, plonked himself down on the floor.

"Come on then." Arthur said indicating the space opposite him, "Show me how it works."


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, big hugs to all. Though I have noticed the number has droped so please please review everyone. Also if you haven't told me what you think about possible slash in later chapters I'd really like to know. Also I forgot to say in earlier chapters but this is set after S02E11, this will become more important in later chapters, so there may be some spoilers but they should be too huge. Thanks for reading and please review. x**

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_Previously_

"So," Arthur continued out loud, "There is definitely no way to stop you hearing my every thought till we find the sorceress?"

"Nope." Merlin said brightening up, too much for Arthur's liking, "Well I do know how to hide your deep secrets so I can't discover them as long as you don't want me to."

Arthur looked back at Merlin in surprise. This was the last thing he had been expecting. He moved forward and, ignoring the table and chairs, plonked himself down on the floor.

"Come on then." Arthur said indicating the space opposite him, "Show me how it works."

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Merlin moved over to sit opposite Arthur and smiled at the expectant look on his face. He realised that Arthur was completely under his control. Arthur didn't know how to block his thoughts. Merlin could make him do anything, the possibilities were endless. Arthur glared at Merlin.

"If you make me look like a fool I will personally kill you." Arthur warned.

Merlin pulled a face at him and sighed. This mind reading was going to spoil his fun.

"Fine then. Close your eyes and concentrate on your thoughts."

Arthur did as he was told, for once in his life, and looked inward blocking out any trace of Merlin's annoying presence. They sat in silence for a moment till Merlin was satisfied that Arthur was concentrating. If Arthur had had his eyes open he would have noticed the mischievous smile that appeared on Merlin's face.

"Are you concentrating?" He asked.

Arthur opened his eyes and threw Merlin a dirty look.

"Well I was till you started distracting me." Arthur growled.

"Sorry." Merlin muttered, _Is this less distracting for you Sire?_

"Merlin!"

"I'll stop talking now."

Arthur pulled a face at Merlin and closed his eyes again. Merlin listened to his regular breathing and, satisfied that Arthur was ready, began his instructions.

_Keep concentrating on your thoughts and repeat after me. I Arthur Pendragon..._

"I Arthur Pendragon..." Arthur repeated, concentrating on maintaining his calm rather than on what he was saying.

_...promise to always..._

"...promise to always..."

_...listen to Merlin..._

"...listen to Merlin..."

_...as he is the..._

"...as he is the..."

_...best servant in the world._

"...best servant in..." Arthur's eyes snapped open, "MERLIN!"

He glowered at Merlin who was laughing hysterically at his own wit. Arthur was fuming. Here they were in this awful situation and all Merlin could do was play tricks on him. He wasn't taking any of this seriously. Did he not see the terrible effect this could have if they didn't sort it out?

"Do you think you're funny?" He asked the laughing Merlin angrily, "I will make your life a living hell if you don't take this seriously!"

"Like you don't already." Merlin spluttered through his laughter.

Arthur looked at his servant rolling around the floor laughing and frowned. He was Prince Arthur, no servant had ever laughed at him before. But Merlin wasn't like the other servants. He disagreed with Arthur, voiced his own opinions and never, ever, showed Arthur any respect. Arthur did have to admit that this was probably why he was the closest thing to a friend Arthur had ever had but that still didn't stop it driving him mad.

Merlin was still laughing and Arthur finally lost it. He dove at Merlin and wrestled the sniggering boy over. Merlin struggled to break free from Arthur's grip but failed. He ended up lying on his front with Arthur's knee digging into his back, his arm twisted behind him painfully.

"Arthur!" Merlin exclaimed, all trace of laughter gone.

"Are you going to take this seriously?" He asked the squirming boy beneath him.

"Yes!"

"And stop trying to make a fool of me?"

"Yes! Please get off me!"

Arthur released him and retreated back to the spot he had been sat on previously. He watched Merlin pick himself up and felt a small pang of guilt as he saw Merlin rubbing his arm and felt his pain through their bond.

"You should feel guilty; that hurt." Merlin grumbled.

"Well you shouldn't have been trying to make me look like an idiot."

Merlin shot him a wounded look and sat sulkily opposite him.

"So are you going to teach me this now?" Arthur asked expectantly.

He looked at Merlin, waiting for his answer. However Merlin just sat there sullenly, glaring at him. Arthur sighed as he realised what Merlin was waiting for.

"I'm not going to apologize so there is no point looking at me like that."

Merlin pouted at Arthur then got up and started tidying Arthur's room. Arthur stared at him bewildered, unsure what Merlin was doing.

_Well you said you're not going to apologize and there is no point me sitting there so I thought I would do something useful till you change your mind._

"Merlin you know I'm not going to change my mind so we might as well get on with this." Arthur sighed.

Merlin knew that Arthur was the most stubborn person he knew, but he could also be stubborn at times, and he held all the cards. If Arthur wanted to learn how to shield his deep secrets he was going to have to apologize. Merlin made sure he thought that last thought as loud as possible and, from the sigh that came from behind him, he knew Arthur had heard.

"Fine, fine. I'm sorry if I hurt you." Arthur mumbled reluctantly, "But you were asking for it."

Arthur could sense Merlin preparing to argue and he didn't real feel up to arguing with his stubborn friend.

_Okay fine. It was uncalled for. Happy now?_

Merlin's usual smile appeared back on his face and he ambled over to Arthur. He sat back down and Arthur saw a cheeky twinkle in his eye.

"Can we do this properly now?" Arthur asked exasperated.

"Whatever you say My Lord." Merlin replied sarcastically, still smiling, "Well you really do need to close your eyes and concentrate on your thoughts."

Arthur did as Merlin instructed.

_If you try and make a fool of me again I will put you in the stocks till you can't stand up any longer._

Merlin rolled his eyes fondly at Arthur and resumed his instructions.

_You have to imagine a room filled with all the memories and thoughts you want to hide._

Arthur sensed that Merlin was being serious this time and so he did as instructed. He pictured a dusty storage room filled with many memories. Embarrassing memories, personal memories and memories he just didn't want Merlin to see. An image of him kissing Gwen in the tent flashed through his mind.

_You don't need to hide that. I've already seen it._

_MERLIN!_

_Sorry, I'm going._

Merlin retreated back into his own head. He knew he shouldn't be snooping through Arthur's thoughts but he couldn't resist finding out what the future king of Camelot had to hide. Unfortunately he hadn't been able to keep his thoughts quiet and he'd been caught before he'd found anything interesting. On the surface it had all seemed to be trivial stuff but Merlin had sensed some deep secrets that Arthur had never shared with anyone. And, although he hadn't found out what they were in his forage, his curiosity had been awakened.

"Once you've done that you must imagine yourself locking this room and securing it from trespassers." Merlin said out loud, not want to intrude again.

"Trespassers like you?" Arthur asked cheekily.

He watched the peaceful look on Arthur's face as he concentrated on his defences. Merlin had set his own when he had been with the dragon to make sure it would work before he taught it to Arthur. He smiled at Arthur's relaxed look and realised he hadn't seen Arthur like this in a long time. There always seemed to be something causing worry and fear and, even when there was no threat to Camelot, Arthur had seemed preoccupied with some other worry that he would not confide in Merlin.

He felt a tug in his mind and realised Arthur was done. He moved his thoughts away from his worries about Arthur as he didn't want him to know he was concerned. Arthur smiled at his friend.

"Well at least this makes this mind reading thing slightly more bearable now I know you can't access my secrets."

He watched Merlin squirm slightly and narrowed his eyes at him.

"Merlin? This is going to keep my secrets from you?"

"Well in theory it should keep them safe. As long as you don't lose focus." Merlin mumbled, "Moments of extreme emotion may make the defences fail and leave your mind vulnerable."

Arthur was about to reply, outraged that Merlin hadn't thought to tell him earlier, when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" Arthur called standing up, _I'm not done with you yet._ He shot at Merlin silently.

Gwen entered the room hesitantly to see Merlin sat on the floor smiling impertinently and Arthur stood opposite him, a disgruntled look on his face. She wasn't really surprised by this sight as Merlin was always winding Arthur up with his smart comments. What did surprise her however, was Merlin's appearance. At a glance he looked fine but when she looked at him closely she saw the dark bags under his eyes and realised his clothes seemed to be hanging off him as if he had lost a lot of weight. She hoped that Arthur wasn't working him too hard as he did tend to get caught up in his own thoughts and forget about the needs of the others around him. However she did not know that it was now impossible for Arthur to be caught up in just his own thoughts.

"Guinevere?" Arthur asked softly and she flushed realising she had gotten caught up in her own thoughts and forgotten why she had been sent there.

"Oh sorry. The king requires your presence. Another sorceress has been found." She fumbled embarrassed.

She noticed that both Arthur and Merlin seemed very interested at the mention of the sorceress. She was unsure why as she knew Merlin hated Uther's constant execution of anyone who was even remotely connected to magic.

_Do you think it could be? _Arthur asked Merlin silently, not wanting Gwen to hear.

_Probably not, that would be too easy. _Merlin replied. _But we won't find out stood around here. You better say something, Gwen is looking suspicious._

"Thank you Guinevere." Arthur said to the thoroughly bemused maid, "Come on Merlin. If I have to suffer through father's long-winded trials then so do you."

With that Arthur and Merlin moved past Gwen and exited the room, leaving her confused by their strange behaviour and unsure of what to do next.

---

"Do you confess to knowingly practicing magic within Camelot in full knowledge that you were breaking the law?" Uther asked the cowering woman.

"Yes." Came her breathless whisper.

"And by admitting this you are admitting to being an enemy of the crown and a traitor to your kingdom. I have no choice but to sentence you to death."

Merlin turned away from the broken woman feeling sadness ebbing through him. He didn't believe for a second that the woman had done anything to threaten the safety of Camelot yet she was being sentenced to death for a gift she could not get rid of.

_Is it her? _Arthur's voiced echoed in Merlin's head.

Merlin glanced over at the prince sat by his father at the front of the room. His face was an impassive mask but Merlin could feel his emotions raging through his bond. On the one hand he had been brought up to believe that magic was evil and therefore so was anyone practicing it. But on the other hand he recognised that the fragile woman in front of him had done nothing to threaten his kingdom and was just another victim in his father's fight against sorcery.

Merlin monitored the battle raging in Arthur's head carefully. He knew Arthur was not totally convinced by his father's hatred for magic however he also knew that he would find it hard to defy an idea that had been implanted in him from the day he was born. Arthur cared for his people, more than he cared for himself, and despite his uncertainty on his views of magic he still hated to see so many of them killed over small acts.

Arthur turned to look at Merlin expectantly, knocking him out of his reverie.

_Well what do you think?_

Merlin turned his attention back to the woman who was still cowering on the floor while Uther recited his speech about how magic would destroy them from the core if they did not act swiftly. He concentrated on her, unsure of what he was supposed to be looking for. Eventually he gave up with a sigh.

_I don't know. I don't even know what we're supposed to be looking for._

_Me neither, _Arthur thought back, _But I don't feel anything at all._

_Same. I suppose if it was her we'd just know._

Both boys were so wrapped up in their thoughts they didn't realise that Uther had finished and the room had cleared. Uther got up with a sigh and, ignoring Merlin, moved behind his chair and addressed Arthur.

"I have made it perfectly clear my policy on magic and still the people defy me. How many must I make an example off till they heed the warning?" He grumbled.

"Maybe they can't help it." Arthur said without thinking.

Uther turned to look at his son shocked.

"What did you say."

"Maybe they can't help it." Arthur repeated with more confidence, "Maybe they can't prevent the fact they have magic and we shouldn't punish them so harshly for something they can't help."

"Well what would you have me do? Let sorcerers run rampant throughout the kingdom destroying everything we have built." Uther asked sarcastically.

"I'm not saying that father." Arthur stood up and turned to face him, "I just think that maybe our policies are too harsh and we need to rethink them."

"You have seen what these people can do Arthur and you want me to just let them go unpunished." Uther demanded angrily.

"I have seen a few individuals use their magic for evil but many more killed for actions that weren't hurting anyone." Arthur said his temper rising.

"They were using magic; that is crime enough!" Uther shouted

"That woman was just cleaning her washing! She wasn't hurting anyone! She has lived in Camelot her whole life and has never once hurt anyone; do you really think she was going to start now?" Arthur shouted back.

"She broke the law, she must be punished!" Even to Uther's own ears his argument sounded weak but he would not concede this point, "Magic is evil and those who used it deserve to be punished!"

"And what about her family? Her four children? Do they deserve to be punished?" Arthur challenged.

Uther had had enough. He was not going to stand here and be preached at by his own son. He was the king of Camelot and he deserved more respect.

"I will not be spoken to in such an insolent manner! You will go to your rooms and stay there till you recognise the error of you ways!" Uther roared.

"You're confining me to my chambers?" Arthur asked incredulous.

"Yes, and you will stay there till I see fit." Uther bellowed at his son, "I do not wish to see you again until you have learnt to respect me!"

"Well then you won't be seeing me for a long time." Arthur replied coldly and swept out the room, leaving Uther fuming behind him.

Merlin, who had been stood silently in the corner during their argument, hurried after Arthur, keen to avoid Uther's anger turning on him. He followed Arthur down the corridor and eventually caught up to the seething prince. Arthur was muttering incessantly under his breath and although Merlin couldn't hear what he was saying his thoughts were all too clear.

_Who does he think he is confining me to my chambers? I'm not a child anymore. He can't send me to my room and expect me to magically respect him. Just because I don't worship every word that comes out his mouth doesn't mean he has the right to dismiss my opinions without a thought._

Merlin smiled slightly as he heard Arthur fume. It wasn't often he didn't manage to restrain his anger but Merlin thought it had done him good to release his pent up frustration. However he wasn't sure that Uther was the best person to explode at.

_And I will not sit by while he punishes people for his own personal hatred. I am the future king of Camelot, he cannot tell me what to do._

Merlin was pleased to see that Arthur's views on magic did not mirror his father's. He knew he would eventually have to tell Arthur about his own magic and he hoped that Arthur wouldn't hate him too much, and maybe it would make him realise that not all magic was evil.

Suddenly Merlin noticed something in Arthur's mind that he should have realised from the beginning.

"We're not going back to your chambers are we?" He asked Arthur.

"Once again Merlin you amaze me with your observational skills." Arthur replied sarcastically, "What gave it away? Perhaps the fact that my chambers are the other end of the castle or that we have been walking away from them since we left the hall..."

_Or maybe the fact that you can hear my thoughts and I have been pretty much screaming that fact to you. _Arthur continued silently, aware of the guards passing by.

Merlin sighed, Arthur had once again reverted to prat mode.

_I heard that!_

_Good I meant it._

"So," Merlin said, switching back to speaking out loud, "Where are we going then?"

"To the town."

Merlin frowned; he didn't understand Arthur's sudden interest in visiting the town's people. He could tell Arthur needed to get out of the castle but he normally ended up dragging Merlin hunting when he was in this mood. It seemed he had another reason for his choice of destination.

_Merlin you are an idiot. We are going to find ourselves the sorceress._


	5. Chapter 5

**The end of the series is over, *sob* what am I going to do with my Saturday evenings? Anyways thanks to all you wonderful people who have reviewed so far, I love you all. I'm really glad to see so many people enjoying this so here is another one for you. Please tell me what you think of it. Thanks to everyone who is reading. As always Italics are Arthur and Merlin's thoughts and spells are in bold. Enjoy. xxx**

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Previously

"So," Merlin said, switching back to speaking out loud, "Where are we going then?"

"To the town."

Merlin frowned; he didn't understand Arthur's sudden interest in visiting the town's people. He could tell Arthur needed to get out of the castle but he normally ended up dragging Merlin hunting when he was in this mood. It seemed he had another reason for his choice of destination.

_Merlin you are an idiot. We are going to find ourselves the sorceress._

* * *

To the people of Camelot the sight of Arthur and his manservant taking a stroll through the town was not an uncommon sight. They often wondered through the streets and their good-natured bickering could be heard for miles. Today was no different. To any passersby they would look normal. Talking and laughing about everything, without a care in the world.

However the reality couldn't be further from that. Both boys were feeling tense and were very aware of everyone passing them. They were trying to act normal however neither were really paying attention to the words they were saying. All their energy was focused on finding the sorceress. They inspected every woman who walked past, trying to see if they felt a connection. Merlin suddenly realised how strange they must look to passersby. A small giggle escaped his lips causing Arthur to break off his latest rant and look at him strangely.

"What?" He asked his giggling manservant.

_I just realised how weird we must look to everyone else._

Arthur frowned at him, not really sure what he was getting at.

_Well we're walking through town staring at every woman who walks past. It must look like we've just checked out every woman in Camelot._

Both boys burst out laughing hysterically, drawing some strange looks from the people nearby. They managed to recover slightly and Arthur launched straight back into his list of Merlin's incompetence while thinking;

_So have you found anything?_

_Nope. The biggest problem is we don't know what we're looking for._

_Really Merlin? And here I was thinking our problem was the lack of people. _Arthur thought sarcastically gesturing at the crowded streets.

Merlin rolled his eyes at Arthur and they continued down the street. They had been walking for a couple of minutes before Merlin realised he had stopped concentrating on finding their sorceress. He glanced guiltily at Arthur but realised that he had also stopped paying attention.

"Arthur?" He asked softly.

Arthur looked at him blankly and Merlin could tell he wasn't really registering what he was seeing. Merlin tried to look at Arthur's thoughts to see what was troubling him but he couldn't see anything. Arthur seemed to have developed a greater control over his thoughts than Merlin and was blocking what he was thinking. This annoyed Merlin greatly. He was the one with the magic, surly that would mean he should be better at controlling it. Apparently not from the lack of response he was getting from his probing of Arthur's mind.

They had both been so absorbed in their thoughts that neither of them noticed the approaching figure in time to avoid them.

"I'm so sorry." Said Merlin grabbing hold of the woman's arm to stop her from falling, "Morgana?"

Merlin stared at her startled, surprised to see her here. However his surprise was nothing compared to the look on her face. Merlin frowned at her expression; it seemed to be shock tinned with something else. Was it fear?

"Morgana." Arthur spoke, "I apologise for my clumsy servant are you okay?"

"Your concern is touching Arthur but I can take care of myself." Her normally cool voice was tinged with tension.

Merlin frowned as he saw her eyes flick between him and Arthur. She looked jumpy, tense and very unlike her usual self.

_Is it just me or is Morgana acting strangely? _Merlin asked Arthur

_I know what you mean. She looks like she thinks we're going to attack her at any moment. _Arthur replied.

"Are you okay Morgana?" Merlin asked concerned.

"Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?" She asked flustered tearing her arm away from Merlin's hold.

Before either boy could speak she pushed past them and hurried back towards the castle. They watched her go bemused, unsure of what had just happened.

"I will never understand her." Arthur said exasperated and turned his back on her, setting back off down the road.

Merlin watched Morgana's tense form for a moment longer then turned to follow Arthur. He hurried after the prince and eventually caught up with him. Arthur was striding along so fast that Merlin had to almost run to keep up with him.

"Have you done something to upset her?" Merlin asked absently.

Arthur glared at Merlin outraged.

"No I haven't! I am the prince of Camelot I don't go round upsetting women."

"Well something's happened to make her so jumpy."

Merlin frowned, worried about Morgana. Since she had stolen the crystal Merlin had been trying to keep an eye on her but he had been so busy with all Arthur's jobs that he hadn't been able to make sure she was alright. She had become more and more withdrawn since her trip to the druids weeks ago but Merlin hadn't had time to speak to her and he now feared he may have missed his chance.

Merlin looked round at his surroundings and realised they had wandered away from the crowded main streets and into the lower town. He glanced round and saw that the crowds of people had faded away to be replaced by dirty, abandoned streets. Merlin glanced up at Arthur who had a determined look on his face. Merlin could sense the resolve in Arthur's mind.

_Arthur? Are you okay?_ Merlin asked, not wanting to speak out loud and break the eerie silence around them.

_I'm fine. _Arthur thought back shortly, _I want to find this sorceress, now._

The frustration Arthur was feeling was pouring through their bond and it was weakening his defences, letting more of Arthur's thoughts than usual flow into Merlin's mind, whether he liked it or not.

_The thought of having me hear your thoughts isn't that repulsive. _Merlin thought outraged.

_Of course not Merlin. _Arthur thought back patronisingly, _What I've always wanted is my manservant to be able to hear every thought I have._

Merlin pulled a face at Arthur and once again glanced round at his surroundings in surprise. While they had been 'talking' they had turned down a dark alleyway. Merlin looked round warily, feeling slightly fearfully. Unfortunately for him that leaked through his bond with Arthur and he saw the evil grin spread across Arthur's face.

"Scared Merlin?" He asked with a cheeky glint in his eye.

"No." He muttered his eyes darting up and down the alleyway.

_Oh please Merlin. If having no secrets because of this mind reading thing didn't give it away, the fact that you're shaking would. _

"Am not." Merlin muttered.

Before either of them had a chance to speak again a knife whistled past Merlin, narrowly missing his head. Arthur drew his sword while Merlin stared around in shock, looking for the source of the commotion. They didn't have long to look as four men rushed them.

Arthur swung his sword up to block the first blow. It was clear after a couple of seconds fighting that these men were no match for a trained knight. Adrenalin rushed through him as he parried blows and landed many of his own. Dealing easily with his two attackers he turned to see that Merlin wasn't fairing so well.

Shock reverberated through him as the knife flew past his ear. He had seconds to peer round before the two men were upon him. Weaponless he dodged the first blow and shot Arthur a quick glance to see if he was going to get any help from him, but Arthur was preoccupied with his own assailants. Merlin looked back to see the other man coming at him.

"**Færdryre.**"

Merlin froze in shock as nothing happened. He recovered just in time to dodge out the way of the oncoming sword. He didn't understand what was going on; his mind was focused on one thing. He tried again as both men came at him at once.

"**Færdryre!**" Merlin yelled.

They swung at him clumsily and Merlin only barely managed to avoid a fatal blow. As it was he didn't manage to move fast enough and the tip of the sword pierced his arm, causing pain to shoot through his body. He stumbled over his feet and fell to the ground, crawling backwards away from the leering men above him. Scrambling back in fright he hit the wall of the building behind him. His mind had hit panic mode as he realised there was no way out. Backed against a wall with his magic failing him he closed his eyes, certain this was how it was going to end. Fear had filled him and he had lost all control. With Merlin's defences down, Arthur was suddenly hit by a torrent of his friend's memories.

Flashes of Merlin's childhood; playing with his mother, helping with the harvest and running around with his friends. Then later memories; the endless jobs he did for Arthur, accompanying him on journey after journey, saving him more times than Arthur had ever known, kissing a dark haired girl, holding her dying form in his arms.

Arthur fought his way through the torrent of images to see Merlin cowering on the floor, backing away from the men leaning over him. He managed to push out of the memory of Merlin once again saving him, and swiftly made his way over to them. He launched himself on top of them, wrestling them away from his cowering friend. Dispatching them quickly he leant against the wall in relief panting, trying to catch his breath.

He glanced over at Merlin and a wave of relief swept over him as he saw that he seemed to be relatively unhurt. But the look on his face scared Arthur slightly. Even though there was no threat anymore his face was full of fear. Arthur could feel the terror and confusion flooding through Merlin. The waves of memories had stopped but the feelings that were flowing through the bond were the strongest Arthur had felt them. He vaguely remembered Merlin saying something about moments of extreme emotion breaking any barriers and tightening the bond.

"Well that was close." Arthur said, watching Merlin fearfully.

However Merlin seemed to be frozen in place. Arthur knew that he had almost been killed but they had been in worse situations than that before. Nonetheless this seemed to have affected Merlin deeper. He moved over to the still trembling boy and pulled him to his feet. He grabbed hold of Merlin's shoulders softly and looked into his eyes, spotting the anguish and bewilderment there. At the sight of Merlin's pain Arthur felt as if he had been punched in the gut and a dull ache developed in the pit of his stomach. It wasn't Merlin's pain that he was feeling through their bond; it was the pain for his suffering friend. Arthur wasn't sure why Merlin's suffering caused him so much torment, but at that moment he was too worried about his friend to care.

"Merlin?" He asked softly, "Are you okay?"

Merlin looked up at him blankly and for the first time seemed to realise he was there.

"I...um...I have to...have to go." Merlin managed to stutter out weakly.

Avoiding Arthur's gaze he pulled himself out of his hold and pushed past him, fleeing down the alleyway and out of sight. Even though Merlin was moving further and further away from him, Arthur could still feel his chaotic emotions as clearly as he had before. However this did not help him understand why Merlin was feeling them. Arthur made his way back to the castle, wondering what could have happened to Merlin while he was preoccupied that had scared him so much.


	6. Chapter 6

**Huge apologises for the massive delays I had trouble with this chapter. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and I'm sorry to say that I don't think this chapter is going to be half as good as the last one. Originally it was going to be longer with a bit from Arthur but I thought I'd better update as it's been so long so here it is. I promise Arthur's bit will be in the next chapter that I will try and update soon. I hope you all had a good Christmas and Happy New year in advance. Enjoy. x**

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Previously

"Merlin?" He asked softly, "Are you okay?"

Merlin looked up at him blankly and for the first time seemed to realise he was there.

"I...um...I have to...have to go." Merlin managed to stutter out weakly.

Avoiding Arthur's gaze he pulled himself out of his hold and pushed past him, fleeing down the alleyway and out of sight. Even though Merlin was moving further and further away from him, Arthur could still feels his chaotic emotions as clearly as he had before. However this did not help him understand why he was feeling this. Arthur made his way back to the castle, wondering what could have happened to Merlin while he was preoccupied that had scared him so much.

* * *

Merlin burst into Gaius's rooms gasping for breath. Gaius looked up from the books he was reading and stared at the frantic boy in front of him.

"Merlin? Are you okay?" Gaius asked standing up and moving towards him, "What has happened?"

Merlin tried to speak but, having just run all the way from the lower town, he could only splutter incomprehensible nonsense. Gaius moved over to Merlin and guided him to a seat.

"Calm down Merlin." He said kindly to him.

Merlin took a few deep breaths and managed to calm himself slightly. Gaius watched his young charge carefully, full of concern. He knew something was bothering Merlin as he had never seen the boy so scared, even when Arthur was on the brink of death. Inside he was panicked, if something had happened to make Merlin this scared it was hardly going to be something simple. However he kept his calm expression in place so as not to worry Merlin.

"Now, tell me what happened."

"My magic, it's not working." Merlin whispered fearfully.

Gaius frowned at this news.

"What do you mean it's not working?"

"Well I went to the dragon to help me hide my magic so that Arthur couldn't discover it in my mind but then we were attacked and my magic did not work." Merlin babbled hysterically.

"What?" Gaius asked, thoroughly confused, "I think you had better start at the beginning Merlin."

Merlin took a deep breath and filled Gaius in on everything that had happened that day; the quake, the mind-reading, his visit to the dragon, the ambush in the town and the failing of his magic. He couldn't believe that it had only been this morning that this whole mess had started.

Gaius sat through the whole tale silently, taking in everything Merlin said. He was worried by these events. He knew the danger Merlin was in every moment he was in Camelot with magic but with Arthur able to hear his thoughts he was in even greater danger than normal. He understood why Merlin had gone to see the dragon for help but he could help feeling worried by this. He had never trusted the Great Dragon and, he had to admit, a small part of him was feeling jealous that Merlin hadn't come to see him first. He looked up to see Merlin looking at him expectantly.

"Well this is a strange turn of events." He pondered.

"Yes Gaius, but what am I going to do about it?" Merlin asked exasperated.

"I have never heard of a spell that connects two minds together so you can hear each other's thoughts. However if the dragon says that the only way to break it is to find the sorceress then I am inclined to believe him." He saw Merlin's face fall and continued, "But I will see if it is mentioned in any of my books. The loss of your magic is puzzling. This is an unusual case. I did not believe it to be possible for magic to be stopped in this way. You are sure none of the assailants used magic?"

"Positive. I mean I would have known if they were, and they didn't use magic when Arthur attacked them. But anyway it still doesn't work, look."

Merlin turned to the hearth where the fire had not yet been lit that day and said:

"**Onbærnan.**"

Nothing happened. Gaius looked up at Merlin in shock. He didn't think it was possible for magic to be stopped like this. Especially Merlin's. Gaius had known a lot of sorcerers before the purge but only a few as powerful as Merlin, and none who were as powerful at his age.

Merlin ignored Gaius and turned to the books on the table next to him.

"**Ábregdan**."

Once again nothing happened. Merlin sunk his head into his hands with a small sob.

"I have been able to move things round the room since before I could talk. But now, nothing." Merlin's words were muffled by his hands.

Gaius pondered the situation carefully. There was only one solution he could come up with, and he knew Merlin would be less than pleased with it.

"The only thing I can come up with Merlin is that the dragon took your words more literally than you meant them." He sighed, not liking his plan but recognising it was the only thing Merlin could do, "You will have to go see him again. Find out if this is of his doing."

Merlin sighed, he knew that Gaius was probably right but he didn't like the prospect of going back to see the dragon. He got up and made his way over to the door.

"And Merlin!" Gaius called after him, "Make sure Arthur doesn't know where you're going."

Merlin waved over his shoulder airily, he knew better than to let Arthur know about any of this. He sighed; keeping secrets had become a whole lot harder.

---

Anger was flowing through Merlin's body as he made his way to the dragon. He couldn't believe what was happening. How dare the dragon take his magic from him? He had been unsure when Gaius had suggested that it was the dragon but in the time it had taken him to get to the underground passage he had convinced himself that it was. All the confusion he had been feeling was replaced with anger and he felt an overwhelming desire to hurt the dragon, though he knew this was a ridiculous notion.

He descended the last step and turned into the empty cavern. He growled with frustration as the dragon was nowhere in sight.

"DRAGON!" He called at the top of his voice.

However there was no answer. Merlin knew the dragon had heard but was just ignoring him. Merlin ground his teeth in frustration. Why did he always feel the need to show Merlin how he didn't need him?

"DRAGON!" He repeated, losing the little patience he had left, "WHERE ARE YOU?"

A very disgruntled looking dragon eventually flew down from higher in the cave. He landed in front of Merlin and observed the furious boy. He chuckled slightly at his expression then arranged his features into a more inoffensive expression.

"Young warlock, to what do I owe the pleasure?" He said calmly, making Merlin's blood boil.

"What did you do to me?" He raged.

"I do not understand what you are talking about." The dragon replied innocently, "I did nothing you did not ask of me."

"I didn't ask you to get rid of my magic!"

"It is impossible to remove someone's magic. It is a gift that is unique to each person."

Merlin paused as he tried to understand the dragon's cryptic words.

"But if it is impossible to remove someone's magic then what on Earth has happened to me?" Merlin asked confused.

"Your magic has not been removed young warlock, it is still there."

"But...but I..." Merlin stuttered, "But I can't use it! What did you do?"

"Exactly what you asked. You wanted me to prevent Arthur discovering you had magic. The only way to do that was to suppress it."

"Suppress it? What does that mean?" Merlin asked with a frown.

"Young people, do you know nothing?" The dragon grumbled, "I suppressed it; restrained, stifled, repressed..."

"I know what suppressed means, but how did you do it?"

"Do not ask me to explain how!" The dragon bellowed, making Merlin flinch back, "The workings of my magic are much too complex for your tiny mind to comprehend."

"Sorry." He mumbled. "Can you just reverse it?"

"No." The dragon said simply.

Merlin frowned, that was not the answer he had been expecting.

"No? What do you mean no?" He asked stunned.

"I mean no young warlock."

"But...but...you won't do it? Why? Can you not?"

"Of course I can." Merlin looked slightly more optimistic however as the dragon continued his optimism left him, "But I will not. You have not done what I asked of you. Why should I do you yet another favour?"

"I will free you! But I need to sort this out first. Please!"

"When young warlock? Too long I have been stuck down her in this hole that Uther trapped me in. You promised you would set me free and I shall not help you until you honour your promise."

The dragon looked at Merlin expectantly.

"So you won't remove your spell."

"Not until your promise is made true."

Merlin turned to leave when he heard the dragon's roar behind him. He glanced back at the angry dragon with a resentful look. He had promised to release the dragon, and he would, but after what he had seen in the crystal he wasn't in any hurry to do it. He looked at the creature behind him calmly for a moment the continued on his way out of the cavern.

"You promised me!"


	7. Chapter 7

**Here's Arthur's pov that I promised you all with a little bit extra on the end for you *wink*. I didn't think I'd get this done so soon as I have exams coming up but it's amazing what you can do when you're stuck in the car for 10 hours. Because of exams updates after this might be a bit irregular, well more irregular than normal, so apologies in advance. Thanks to everyone who's read, reviewed or alerted, I love you all. As always I'd love to know what you think, enjoy. xxx**

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Previously

"So you won't remove your spell."

"Not until your promise is made true."

Merlin turned to leave when he heard the dragon's roar behind him. He glanced back at the angry dragon with a resentful look. He had promised to release the dragon, and he would, but after what he had seen in the crystal he wasn't in any hurry to do it. He looked at the creature behind him calmly for a moment the continued on his way out of the cavern.

"You promised me!"

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

Arthur frowned after the retreating Merlin. He didn't understand what had just happened. He had felt the other boy's fear during the ambush, which was understandable as he thought he was about to die, however the fear was still there even after Arthur had dealt with the assailants. He tried to work out what his friend could be so afraid of. Arthur's brain groped around for any possible explanation but he could only come up with one, one that scared him more than any battle.

_What if he's afraid of me?_

Sinking down onto the floor Arthur rested his head against the wall behind him in despair and shut his eyes. He hesitated for a moment, fearful of the magic in his mind. However concern for Merlin won out and he looked inside him for their link. Even though he would never admit it, he had grasped the concept of the link once Merlin had explained it. And, to his delight and trepidation, he was able to manipulate it better than Merlin.

He found the connection and tried to push through it into Merlin's mind. Arthur expected the other boy's guard to be down as he didn't think he'd be able to control it in the state he'd been in. However Arthur was met with the strongest block he'd ever seen. Granted before that morning he had never experienced a magical mind block, let alone a strong one. But Merlin's guard was so strong that Arthur couldn't even read his surface thoughts anymore. He frowned and pressed further. An image of Merlin fleeing towards the castle flashed through him mind, but was soon gone. Arthur could still feel Merlin's presence in his mind however there was no response to his probing.

_Merlin? _He thought frustrated, _Merlin you'd better answer me or you're fired!_

But it was no use. He was getting as much response as if he was shouting at the brick wall.

Giving up on Merlin's present thoughts Arthur started sorting through Merlin's memories that had flashed through his mind. He ignored the earlier ones of Merlin's childhood and focused on the more recent ones. He saw memories of when they had first met, but from Merlin's point of view.

_Wow I really am a prat, _He thought as he saw himself knock Merlin down countless times during their training sessions while Merlin took it all good naturedly.

Different memories appeared. Memories of the times they had been in danger. However parts of them remained unclear. He could see, from Merlin's point of view, the scene up until the beast was slain or sorcerer defeated and then it went fuzzy. Arthur tried to look closer, even comparing them to some of his own recollections of the events, but nothing worked. It was as if they had all been modified to prevent Arthur seeing something. But he couldn't see what all these memories had in common, except they were life or death situations for Arthur. But that couldn't be it, could it?

He sighed and gave up with them as well, resolving to come back to them later as he hated not knowing things. There were only two memories left he hadn't looked at. These two were the strongest and the ones Arthur wanted to look at the least as they caused some weird sensation near his midriff.

The first was Merlin with a dark haired mysterious girl Arthur didn't recognise. He disliked that fact as, from the feelings that were attached to the memory and the fact they were kissing, Merlin obviously cared about this girl a lot and, if they were that close, then surely Merlin would have introduced her to Arthur or he would have seen then together.

However when he turned to the second memory he could see why he hadn't. Merlin was cradling the dead girl in his arms and crying. Arthur didn't know what had happened between the two memories or how far apart they were as these were the only two containing this girl that had burst through Merlin's block. He decided that not much time would have passed between them as there would have been at least some rumours going round if they had been together long. Especially as Arthur knew for a fact that at least half the maid and kitchen hands were in love with the boy, though why he did not know.

Resolving to ask Merlin about this girl later, once he had found out why he was in such a fright and gotten to the bottom of the corrupted memories, Arthur pushed himself up off the ground and dusted himself down. He was glad that the alley way was deserted for it would do no good for the people of Camelot to see their crown prince sitting in the gutters. Arthur set off briskly, heading back towards the castle. He was still caught up in his thoughts and Merlin's memories and had forgotten that he was supposed to be looking for the sorceress. She could have walked straight past him and he wouldn't have noticed.

Arthur was halfway to the castle when he stopped dead in his tracks. The people walking past looked at him strangely but no one said a word. They didn't want to be the one to point out that their prince seemed to be seeing things. For Arthur seemed to be stood stock still, staring aghast at something no one else could see. In actuality he was oblivious to his surroundings and was focusing on an internal fear. He had been trying, once again, to probe Merlin's presence in his mind to see if he was okay, when it disappeared.

Shock filled Arthur to the core as he realised that the only thoughts in his head were his own. He couldn't come up with an explanation as to why that was. The reason for their journey into the lower town resurfaced in his mind and he stared around to see if he could spot the sorceress, but no one stood out to him. That only left Merlin. He must have found her on his own.

At this thought Arthur started running towards the castle. If Merlin had found her that meant that he was alone with a sorceress. Arthur had spent his whole life taught that magic was evil and, even though his views on magic weren't as radical as his father's, the thought of Merlin facing her defenceless scared him. He picked up his pace, not worrying about the people who were having to jump out of his way, and sped towards the castle.

He climbed the steps to the castle, taking them three at a time, and hesitated at the top. Merlin could be anywhere and without their bond it would take Arthur too long to search for him. For the first time that day Arthur realised how useful the bond was and how much he had started to rely on it to keep track of Merlin. Arthur took a deep breath and tried to relax. Where was Merlin most likely to be? Snapping his eyes open Arthur set off down the corridor towards Gaius's chambers, ignoring everyone he passed. He'd decided that was the most logical place Merlin would be. And if not Arthur could always ask Gaius for the other man seemed to know a lot about the goings on in Camelot.

He entered the room and scanned for any sign of Merlin however he was nowhere to be seen. Arthur was about to barge into Merlin's room when he spotted Gaius sat behind the bench, watching him carefully.

"Ah Gaius, I was just looking for Merlin, have you seen him?" Arthur asked, trying his best to seem uninterested.

"Yes My Lord I have. But I'm afraid he left a while ago."

Arthur's heart fell and he was filled with despair.

"Did he say where he was going?"

"I'm afraid he didn't." Gaius replied after a moment's hesitation.

However Arthur was too wrapped up in his own worry to notice it or the cautious tone in the other man's voice. He sighed in frustration. His only hope had been that Gaius knew where Merlin was. He knew Merlin had been heading towards the castle from the flash he had seen of Merlin's thoughts. But he didn't know where in the castle he would be. It was huge and would take Arthur too long to search the whole place.

"He didn't seem...erm...worried at all did he?" Arthur asked hesitantly.

"What do you mean?" Gaius asked uncertain how to answer his question without revealing too much of Merlin's secrets.

"Did he seem different to his normal insufferable self?" Arthur asked, fighting to keep the concern out of his voice.

"Now you mention it he did seem a little distracted but I thought he was just busy with his chores."

Arthur frowned. Merlin had seemed more than 'distracted' when he had left. Although maybe he didn't want to alert Gaius to the problem if it really was related to their link, Arthur thought. He had promised Arthur he wouldn't tell anyone about it and Arthur didn't think it likely he would break that promise.

"If you see him can you tell him I'm looking for him? He still has a huge list of chores to complete by the end of the day." Arthur commanded in his haughtiest tone and swept from the room.

As he walked down the corridor he tried not to let his worry show on his face. He took turn after turn randomly, hoping to bump into his clumsy servant, but to no avail. If anyone noticed the prince stalking the corridors like a mad man they didn't comment.

Arthur turned down another corridor when, once again, he froze in shock. Just as suddenly as it had disappeared, Merlin's presence in his mind had returned. He nearly collapsed in relief as he saw that the other boy was okay. However his relief soon turned to anger that Merlin had scared him like that.

_Merlin! Where the hell have you been!_

He felt the other boy jump in surprise at Arthur's tone and saw him scurrying guiltily towards Arthur's chambers.

_Me? Nowhere._

_Merlin don't lie to me I can read your thoughts. Though that wasn't true a couple of minutes ago, what happened?_

Arthur registered Merlin's confusion with a frown. It had never occurred to him that Merlin might not have noticed.

_What do you mean? _Merlin thought slowly.

_Well one minute I'm trying to work out why you are blocking me out so vehemently and the next it was like this mind thing had disappeared._

Merlin frowned utterly confused. He hadn't noticed that Arthur's presence had disappeared from his mind. However he had been slightly distracted arguing with the dragon. Suddenly it dawned on Merlin what had just happened. He remembered the dragon saying something about being able to block the bond when Merlin was in his presence. He grit his teeth in annoyance. It seemed the dragon was still finding ways to get him in trouble.

_Um, I don't really know what happened Arthur. _He thought, hoping that Arthur wouldn't notice the lie.

Arthur did notice, however he decided to drop it. It seemed that it wasn't permanent so it wasn't really much use in solving their problem. He was just relieved Merlin hadn't been facing the sorceress alone.

_You were worried about me. _Merlin teased triumphantly.

_I was not! _Arthur denied.

_Arthur don't lie to me I can read your thoughts. _Merlin said smiling, mirroring Arthur's earlier words.

_Shut up._

Arthur growled in frustration. It seemed that Merlin had cheered up if he was in a good enough mood to tease him. And on the surface of Merlin's thoughts that appeared to be true, but when Arthur looked closer he could see the tension and worry was still there.

_Hey! What happened to not prying!_

_Well you didn't seem to be doing that earlier so I thought I'd get some payback._

Arthur's cheery tone was completely fake as he was still worried about Merlin but realised he was going to have to tread carefully. He noticed that Merlin was in his chambers tiding up the mess that had occurred earlier during the 'quake'. He altered his course and headed towards his rooms.

---

Merlin was sat on the floor of Arthur's rooms polishing his helm. He was realising how much he relied on magic to get things done. He groaned in frustration as he wondered how anyone managed to clean armour without magic. At that moment he would have gladly cleaned a thousand suits of armour if it meant he got his magic back.

He heard the door open and felt Arthur's presence in the room. He'd known Arthur was on his way because of the bond and that was why he'd ended up on the floor dealing with his armour. He was hoping that if he looked really busy then Arthur wouldn't ask him about his reaction earlier. He had debated leaving when he knew Arthur was coming but he knew that their stupid bond would mean that Arthur could find him easily so he had started on the armour. It was all wishful thinking as he knew Arthur well enough to know that he wouldn't let it drop until he'd gotten to the bottom of it.

Arthur hesitated at the door for a moment then moved over to Merlin and sat down opposite him. He glanced round and realised they were sat in the same positions they had been in earlier when Merlin was teaching him how to block his thoughts. He smiled sadly as he remembered Merlin trying to make a fool of him. He would give anything to have that Merlin back.

He briefly wondered whether Merlin could read that in his thoughts but the other boy looked too preoccupied with his own thoughts to be bothering with Arthur's. He took this opportunity to inspect Merlin carefully. He spotted the dark bags under his friend's tired eyes. He hadn't noticed them before and he wondered how well Merlin had been sleeping. Looking for other signs that Merlin hadn't been sleeping Arthur noticed that Merlin's clothes were hanging off him as if he had lost a lot of weight. It seemed that Merlin was going without food as well as sleep.

"Merlin, are you alright?" He asked gently.

"Of course I am." Merlin said falsely bright, "Don't I look okay."

"No you don't"

Merlin looked up briefly in shock, that hadn't been what he was expecting Arthur to say. He met Arthur's gaze and looked away quickly, fearful of the searching look in his friend's eyes. He didn't really want Arthur looking any closer, he had so many secrets to hide and he wasn't sure he really had the energy for it.

Arthur caught Merlin's eyes and saw a flicker of something in them, was it fear? He bit his lip as Merlin turned back to the armour. Arthur hoped that it wasn't him the fear was at. He probed slightly into Merlin's mind and felt him slam his defences down causing him to rock backwards slightly.

"Sorry." Merlin mumbled without looking up.

Arthur looked down at the armour in frustration to see what could be holding Merlin's attention so adamantly. He watched Merlin wiping the metal with a frown. Something about it didn't seem quite right. Realising what it was Arthur pulled the armour and the cloth out of Merlin's hands with a sigh and started polishing the armour his self.

"If that's how you've been polishing my armour it's no surprise it takes you so long." He said casually.

He glanced up to see Merlin's shocked expression as he circled the cloth expertly across the metal.

"What?" He asked pausing briefly.

_You actually know how to do it?_

Arthur rolled his eyes at him and returned to polishing the armour.

"Of course I know how to do it, I'm not completely useless. It's the first thing I was taught when training to be a knight. 'Before you use your tools you have to know how to care for them.'" Arthur said, quoting his old tutor.

"Then why do you always make me do it?" Merlin said sulkily.

Arthur flushed slightly at that. He didn't really have an explanation. To start with he had just piled as many jobs as he could think of onto his servant, trying to get him to quit. However as their relationship had grown Arthur had started to depend on the other boy to do these things without thinking about how the workload affected him. Though looking at his haggard form Arthur realised that it may have been affecting him more than he realised.

"Because I have much more important things to do and because it is your job." He said airily.

_And because you're a prat._

Arthur cuffed the other boy round the head with a smile then sighed.

_Yeah I suppose I am._

Merlin nearly fell over in shock when he heard Arthur's thought. He gaped at Arthur in disbelief. He was unsure whether Arthur had intended him to hear that thought but the fact that he had thought it at all surprised Merlin. He quickly rearranged his features into a more neutral expression as Arthur looked up.

"So are you going to tell me what was going on earlier?" Arthur asked suddenly.

Merlin winced. He knew the question was coming from the moment Arthur stepped in the room but that didn't mean he was any more prepared for it.

"What do you mean?" He asked casually, making to get up.

However Arthur grabbed his wrist and pulled him back down. Merlin briefly tried to free himself but quickly gave up as he realised that Arthur's grip was too strong.

"Don't play dumb with me. I know there was something wrong. You ran off like a bat out of hell. And anyway I could feel your emotions." Arthur stated, _Please don't lie to me Merlin._

Merlin looked into Arthur's pleading eyes and his heart fell. He knew he couldn't tell Arthur the truth about his magic not working and he couldn't think of a lie Arthur would believe. Although he realised that was probably useless as Arthur would know he was lying.

"I can't tell you."

"What do you mean you can't tell me?" Arthur raged.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes on the pretext of trying to clam himself. Instead he looked through their bond into Merlin's mind. He tried to be subtle so that Merlin didn't realise he was doing it. He felt the confusion and upset from earlier. Pressing further he saw that Merlin hated lying to him, which gave him some comfort, but he couldn't see what he was hiding. He moved further in, trying to discover what it was, when Merlin realised he was there and pushed him out. But not before Arthur felt the exhaustion deep inside him.

"Arthur! Get out of my head!" Merlin fumed, "Look I can't tell you so can you just drop it."

"Fine I'll drop it for now." Arthur said, concerned for his friend's well-being.

Merlin sighed, that was as good as he was going to get from Arthur. Hopefully he would forget about it, though that didn't seem likely, or Merlin could come up with a suitable lie before he brought it up again. Both boys sat in silence for a while. Arthur returned to polishing the armour leaving Merlin lost in thought. He was hoping that the other boy would decide to tell him after all. However Arthur's patience, which was never very strong, was wearing thin. He wasn't angry at Merlin but he couldn't sit in silence any longer, he had to say something.

"Who's this?" He asked projecting the image of the dark haired girl into Merlin's mind.

Arthur instantly regretted asking as he saw the torment on Merlin's face and felt the sadness wash through his friend.

"I'm sorry. You don't have to tell me." He added hastily.

"It's okay." Merlin said with a tight smile, "Her name is...was...Freya."

Arthur saw Merlin's face crinkle into a frown as he realised something.

"How do you know about her?"

Arthur reluctantly showed Merlin the two memories of the girl, Freya he corrected himself, that had flashed through his mind.

"They broke through your block when we were ambushed. What happened to her?" Arthur asked gently.

"She died."

Arthur thought Merlin was stating the obvious but held his tongue. He watched Merlin quietly, waiting for him to speak again.

_I couldn't save her._

Arthur wasn't really sure what to do. He wasn't good at dealing with grieving people. Merlin was far better at it, he thought ironically. He backed off and returned to polishing the armour, regretting bringing it up. They sat in silence again, both lost in their thoughts. This time however, it was Merlin's turn to speak first.

"Were they the only two memories you saw?" Merlin asked cautiously.

Arthur squirmed slightly.

"No."

Merlin looked at him and Arthur sighed. Closing his eyes again he replayed the stream of memories that had flashed through his head. Merlin inwardly sighed in relief as they reached the end. There hadn't been anything too incriminating in the memories. He had feared that Arthur would have seen him using magic. But the memories which contained him using magic seemed to have been edited so Arthur couldn't see him performing it. He didn't know if it was of the dragon's doing or because of his block but he was thankful of it either way.

"Do you know why they're fuzzy?" Arthur asked curious.

"Not got a clue. Maybe they got corrupted in the chaos." Merlin suggested.

He stood up again, and this time Arthur was too lost in his thoughts to stop him. Merlin cleared away the few items he'd missed then started to head towards the door.

"Well seeing as you seem to be doing so well with your armour I'll let you get on with it as I have a huge list of jobs still to do."

Arthur glanced down and noticed he was still cleaning his armour.

"Merlin I'm not doing this for you. It's your job."

"But you're doing so well, I'd hate to deprive you of the pleasure."

He ducked out of the door as Arthur threw the cloth at him. Chuckling, Merlin headed down the corridor, ignoring Arthur's cries.

_MERLIN!_


	8. Chapter 8

**I managed to survive my exam so here is another chapter for you in celebration. Now it's over updates should be getting back to**** normal, well as normal as they ever are. Please review, I always love to know what people think. I hope you all enjoy this and thanks to everyone who has read this far and to everyone who has reviewed. Also thanks to Roses-as-lips for the beta of this chapter. Enjoy. xxx**

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* * *

_

Previously

Arthur glanced down and noticed he was still cleaning his armour.

"Merlin I'm not doing this for you. It's your job."

"But you're doing so well, I'd hate to deprive you of the pleasure."

He ducked out of the door as Arthur threw the cloth at him. Chuckling, Merlin headed down the corridor, ignoring Arthur's cries.

_MERLIN!_

* * *

It had been three weeks since the ambush and Merlin still hadn't managed to regain his magic. He knew there must be a way for him to do it; he refused to admit that the only way might be to free the dragon. So he spent every night trailing through book after book to see if he could find anything, trying to use simple spells to break the dragon's block. As a result of this he was getting even less sleep than usual and looking more and more ragged. He didn't notice this however and he had convinced himself that he wouldn't be able to sleep anyway as the moment he tried, the dragon started shouting in his head about setting him free. He hadn't stopped since his conversation with Arthur in his chambers, filling every free moment with work, either Gaius's jobs or Arthur's, he didn't care. He knew he couldn't stop. If he stopped he would have to think, and he really didn't want to do that. He had managed to keep his mind clear but every time he stopped, the thoughts he was trying to block out broke through; Freya, his magic, the dragon, what he saw in the crystal, and other, deeper, things he wouldn't even contemplate. He thought he might be going slowly mad and it was taking all of his will power to stop Arthur discovering, but he was pretty confident that he had managed it.

Unbeknownst to him, Arthur was concerned about him for just that reason. He had watched the bags under his friend's eyes grow and saw the haunted look in them. And the fact that Merlin seemed to block him out every now and again for no reason confused him slightly, as he didn't understand what he needed to hide. His heart ached every time he saw the wreck Merlin had become. He had lightened Merlin's workload, often letting him go home early in the hope he would have an early night and recover. However, to his despair, Merlin always seemed to find some other task to occupy himself with. Arthur had even been to see Gaius to voice his fears. The elder man had confirmed his worry that Merlin was hardly sleeping or eating. Neither of them had managed to get through to him however as Merlin just brushed aside their concern, claiming he was fine. Even their mind link had given Arthur no hint as to what was truly going on inside his servants mind and wasn't making it any easier to get through to him. If anything he thought the link might be getting weaker along with Merlin, which strengthened his resolve to help his friend.

Entering his chambers one night after a long days training with his knights he found Merlin tidying his room. Dropping his weaponry on the table with a sigh of annoyance, he found his temper flare up and confronted Merlin.

"Merlin what on Earth are you doing here?" He asked angrily.

Merlin turned to face him with a slight frown. Arthur was normally complaining about how he never tidied his room, and now he'd finally got round to doing it Arthur was telling him off for that as well. Hearing this Arthur sighed again.

"I'm not telling you off for tiding my room, at last. I'm telling you off for being here at all." At Merlin's blank expression he explained, "I gave you the day off remember? You are supposed to be resting."

"Let me get this straight you are actually telling me off for working?" Merlin asked, incredulous, _You really need to make your mind up._

Arthur sighed at his infuriating friend. He was sure Merlin knew exactly what he was talking about; he was screaming it loud enough inside his head for it to be impossible for the other boy to miss.

_Merlin you're a mess! You need to stop, to rest! Please, you are going to burn yourself out!_

Arthur broke off furiously, holding back the emotion that was threatening to pour through the bond. He was the Prince of Camelot, if he couldn't hide his emotions from his manservant how could he hide them in diplomatic situations? Granted he wouldn't have negotiators reading his every thought, but it was the same principle.

"Arthur I'm fine." Merlin said with a smile, "If I wasn't then I wouldn't be able to tell you that you are the biggest slob I have ever met. Would it kill you to pick things up once in a while?"

Merlin was trying to change the subject and revert back to their normal banter but he could tell it wasn't working. Arthur was the most stubborn person he knew and he had a feeling he wasn't going to let this go. He didn't really understand Arthur's fixation with getting him too relax and take a break. He was fine, he didn't need to rest. It wasn't like he had time anyway; he had too much to do.

"Like what Merlin?" Arthur asked expectantly, "What do you have to do?"

Merlin opened his mouth to reply then paused. He was running through the list of jobs that Arthur usually set him but he realised that he didn't have any of them left to do. And Gaius had been unusually lenient recently so he didn't have any jobs to do for him either.

"See. You have nothing to do." Arthur sighed, his eyes full of concern, "Merlin there is something wrong I can tell."

"There is nothing wrong, I'm fine." He said with a falsely bright smile.

"Merlin when was the last time you had a proper night's sleep?"

"Last night."

_Liar._

"Fine I've had a little trouble sleeping but it's nothing. I'm fine."

_Liar._

"Look I'm fine so just back off!" Merlin cried exasperated.

"A tone that defensive is a sure sign you're lying." Arthur said calmly, _As if I can't tell anyway._

Both boys were so absorbed in their argument that they hadn't heard Gwen coming to the door. She hesitated at the open door, unsure whether to knock or not. It seemed the two boys were preoccupied with their argument and Gwen didn't want to interrupt if Arthur was finally going to get through to Merlin. She, along with everyone else who knew Merlin, agreed with Arthur that he looked terrible. She could tell something was wrong with him but he wouldn't open up to anyone and tell them what it was. She turned back to their conversation with a frown. It seemed like half of it was missing. They seemed to be answering things that hadn't even been said.

"No I do not need help! I can take care of myself Arthur, unlike you I have been doing it my whole life. I don't need someone to attend to my every whim."

"Low blow mate."Arthur replied, for once he was the calmer of the two, _You know that's not what this is about._

"What is it about then?" Merlin growled, _Your need to control everything?_

"I'm not trying to control you Merlin. I'm worried about you. We all are." Arthur said sadly.

Just at that moment Gwen felt a sneeze catch in her throat. She tried to withhold it, not wanting to spoil the moment, but found she couldn't contain it. Unable to prevent it Gwen sneezed violently, causing both boys to whirl round and stare at her. She felt heat rushing to her cheeks and knew she was blushing furiously.

"Sorry I didn't mean to interrupt but I was sent to come get you and then I saw you were talking and I didn't want to interrupt as you seemed to be fighting. Not that I think you fight because of course you weren't actually fighting I just felt I shouldn't interrupt but your father was insistent and..." Gwen broke of as she realised she was babbling again.

She saw the two boys smiling at her flustered outburst and felt her blush deepen.

"It's okay Guinevere, we were fighting." Arthur said trying to hold back his laughter, "But will you tell Merlin that he needs to rest?"

"Arthur's right Merlin. I haven't seen you stop for weeks, you need a break."

_See, normally you're finding ways to avoid work and now I can't get you to stop._

"You're wrong, I'm fine. And I do not find ways to avoid work!" Merlin protested turning to Arthur.

"Of course you don't." Arthur replied patronisingly, _But you should think about that before you protest._

"I only avoid work because you insist on pilling so much on me." Merlin argued, _Overbearing prat._

"Useless idiot." Arthur retorted with a smile.

Gwen was glad that they seemed to be getting on again and were back to their normal bickering but she couldn't help feel that they were talking utter nonsense. It was as if they could tell what the other was thinking, but that would be ridiculous. Gwen decided that had probably just spent so much time together and had become so accustomed to their bickering that they knew what the other was going to say without them actually having to say it. Yes, she thought, that was a more realistic scenario than that they could read each other's thoughts.

_I think we're confusing her. _Merlin said changing the subject and looking pointedly at Gwen.

_Yeah I think we might be. _Arthur replied with a small smile, _I doubt any of what we're saying out loud makes sense on its own._

_You should probably say something; I think we're freaking her out._

Sure enough as Arthur looked back at Gwen he saw her puzzled and slightly worried expression.

_I think she's more worried for our sanity. _Arthur replied after a short pause.

_Well I am; we're talking to the voices inside our heads._

Arthur burst out laughing at Merlin's last comment. And, after a moment, Merlin joined in, leaving Gwen feeling very confused and left out. Regaining his composure Arthur tried to remember why Gwen had said she was here and return some normality to the conversation.

"Did you say you were sent to fetch me?" Arthur asked politely, trying to fight down his laughter, which Merlin's giggling beside him weren't helping.

Gwen frowned at Arthur's words but soon remembered the urgency with which she had been sent to find the prince.

"Oh yes. The king requires your presence..."

_Again, _Arthur sighed inwardly.

"...There has been some sort of attack on one of the outlying villages I think." Gwen said quickly, remembering the foul mood Uther had been in when he demanded that she find his son on pain of death.

_When is there not an attack we have to prevent? _Arthur mumbled, _I bet you 5 gold coins it's magic related._

"I'm not taking that bet because you'll just win and I don't have 5 gold coins."

Merlin looked up quickly, realising he'd just spoken out loud instead of just thinking his reply. They had become so used to the bond that it had become second nature to the two of them to switch between thoughts and speech when they were communicating. A fact which resulted in some awkward situations when they weren't alone.

Gwen looked at Merlin as if he'd gone insane, which on reflection he thought it probably sounded as if he had.

_Gone insane? I think you're already there Merlin._

Throwing Arthur a scathing look Merlin attempted to fix the situation.

"That is if you were to bet me 5 gold coins that, say the attack was magical, which is likely considering how you like to throw your money around or torture me endlessly..." Merlin trailed of and looked to Arthur for support.

Arthur however was watching Merlin's babbling with an amused smile on his face, refusing to bail him out.

_I hate you. _Merlin thought angrily.

_Aw, I love you too Merlin. _He replied cheekily.

For some reason that made Merlin look down quickly and shuffle his feet awkwardly. Arthur realised what he had just thought and felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment. He quickly turned to Gwen, changing the subject.

"Well as much as I'd love to stand here all day and listen to Merlin's crazy prattling, we're going to be late."

He started out of the room, Gwen and Merlin following after.

"You know Merlin I think your lack of sleep has finally driven you round the bend." He continued.

_You think so? Well then what's your excuse for being such an arse?_

Arthur stopped dead in his tracks and turned to face Merlin slowly.

"Did you just call me an arse?" He asked incredulous, pointing an accusing finger at Merlin.

"No of course not sire. I think you must be hearing things." Merlin said with a cheeky smile, "It's all in your head."

---

Arthur entered the hall followed by Merlin and Gwen to see his disgruntled father sat fuming on his throne. He moved forward and, out the corner of his eye, he spotted the two behind him hurrying over to the side where the other servants were gathered. He looked back at his father as he approached and saw the familiar feverish look in his father's eyes.

_I told you it would be related to magic. _He thought triumphantly.

_I didn't disagree with you. In fact I said I wouldn't take the bet because you were probably right. _Merlin reminded him.

_Well I am always right so it's no surprise._

Arthur knew without looking that Merlin was pulling a face at him behind his back. Resisting the urge to chuckle he addressed his father.

"You wished to see me sire?"

"Yes, though I did summon you a while ago." Uther said disgruntled, unused to having to wait.

"Sorry father I was in the middle of looking over those documents you gave me and couldn't bear to tear myself away." Arthur replied looking suitably apologetic.

_Liar._

_Shut up._

"There has been an attack on one of the outlying villages by some...creature. It has caused havoc and I need you to go over there and deal with it." Uther commanded imperiously.

"What sort of creature?"

"Well we had to wait for you before we could discover." A disgruntled Uther grumbled.

Arthur moved to take the seat next to his father as the doors behind him opened and two men entered. Gaius was escorting a dazed man into the hall. He seemed awed by the grandeur of the hall, a look that Arthur had seen on many peasants' faces.

_Just because you're used to this luxury doesn't mean that everyone else is. _Merlin's voice piped up annoyingly.

_Shut up Merlin._

_You really need to think of a new come back._

Before Arthur could reply his attention was brought back to the room as Gaius started speaking.

"George here is the farmer who witnessed the attack."

After gentle prompting from the physician, George began his account.

"I was checking on the animals around midday like normal and I heard this noise in the bushes, like a rustling or something. I thought it was probably a fox so I went to scare it off so it didn't take any of the livestock. But then it came out the bushes..." He faltered slightly, remembering the beast that had attacked him, "It was like nothing I'd ever seen before My Lord. It was twice as tall as me but it wasn't like any beast, it was more like an insect, almost like a giant spider."

Merlin had been listening attentively, intrigued by the account. A spider like creature that was twice as big as a man. He had never heard of such a creature before and he had to admit it slightly unnerved him. He didn't like spiders at the best of times but a giant one? He shivered at the thought and looked inside to see what Arthur made of this creature, their earlier disagreement forgotten.

However when he did he found Arthur's mind in turmoil. His thoughts seemed to be spinning out of control and his emotions were reeling. Merlin tried to work out what Arthur was thinking but his thoughts were flashing through his mind so rapidly that Merlin found it hard to focus on one. With a frown he glanced over at the prince to see him frozen in, what appeared to be fear. Hearing this however Arthur shook himself and turned to glare at Merlin.

_I'm not scared Merlin. Unlike you I am not a wimp._

_I never said you were. But if I'm not mistaken that alien emotion you are feeling at the mention of a giant spider, is fear._

_Well then you are mistake__n__ because I'm not afraid of something as trifling as a spider._

_But it's a giant spider Arthur! You've got to admit that's a bit creepy._

_No I don't. _Arthur replied shortly, indicating their conversation was over.

Merlin sighed at his stubbornness but smiled to himself as well. He was going to get Arthur to admit he was scared of the giant spider no matter what. Uther's voice jolted him out of his plans and back to the hall.

"What happened then?"

"Well I ran." George said simply, "When I returned with some other men from the village it was gone."

"How can we be sure this is true and not just this man's mind playing tricks on him?" Uther asked Gaius, ignoring the fact that the man was stood in front of him.

"There were several animals missing when the men returned. Also there have been several other sightings by villagers." Gaius explained.

"So this...beast is just taking livestock from farms?" Arthur asked.

Gaius hesitated and Merlin knew that what he was going to say next wasn't going to be good.

"Actually there have been several disappearances around the area where it was spotted and a body has been found mangled as if it had been half eaten."

A shudder went round the hall at this news.

_Not just a giant spider, a giant __**man eating**__ spider. Come on how is that not scary?_

Arthur ignored Merlin.

"So what is it Gaius?" Uther asked, hoping for good news for once.

"I believe it to be a Neith. It is a giant spider-like creature that feasts on other animals. Its front pincers are filled with a poison that will completely paralyze it's pray so it can't fight back." Gaius said gravely, "They usually reside in caves deep underground so it is unusual to see one here as it is completely flat. Actually it is unusual to see one at all as I believed them to be extinct."

Silence followed this as everyone processed what had just been said. When no one spoke Gaius continued.

"It is probably made it's home in the forest near the villages as there it would be undercover and it would have a source of food nearby."

"Is it magical?" Uther asked the question he had been holding back from the beginning.

"I do not think so. However the records of this creature are limited as they haven't been seen for more than a hundred years."

A relieved look crossed the king's face at this news and he turned to his son.

"Ready the knights. About half a dozen men will do. You ride in the morning."

Arthur nodded and exited the room, closely followed by Merlin.

_Ha, you were wrong. It's not magical. You owe me 5 gold coins._

_No I don't. You refused to take the bet remember?_

Merlin sighed in annoyance; the one time he refused to bet with Arthur was the one time he would have won.

_This just proves it, karma hates me._

Arthur chuckled as they continued towards his chambers.


	9. Chapter 9

**Once again huge delays I know, but I am trying honest! As we're nearing the end I will try and update soon, although everytime I say that it doesn't seem to work, just stick with it please. Huge thanks to everyone who has reviewed, I love you all. I have never got this many reviews before and, as we're nearing 100, if you could keep it up I will love you forever. ;) Enjoy. Btw is anyone else's story alerts acting up? x**

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Previously

Arthur nodded and exited the room, closely followed by Merlin.

_Ha, you were wrong. It's not magical. You owe me 5 gold coins._

_No I don't. You refused to take the bet remember?_

Merlin sighed in annoyance; the one time he refused to bet with Arthur was the one time he would have won.

_This just proves it, karma hates me._

Arthur chuckled as they continued towards his chambers.

* * *

Merlin bounded down the corridor towards Gaius's chambers. He had spent the whole day preparing for the journey the next day and this was the first time he was going to get back to his room since the meeting that morning. He could still sense Arthur's dread of the next day, though the other boy denied it. Merlin was feeling strangely happy. This threat, for once, didn't seem to be magical so his lack of magic shouldn't be too much of a problem, and he was planning countless ways to sneak spiders into Arthur's rooms without him discovering who'd done it.

_Don't. You. Dare! _Arthur's voice said in his head angrily.

_Oh and why is that? Because you are in fact, afraid of spiders? _He thought back teasingly.

_I am __**not **__afraid of spiders Merlin._

_Not even giant man-eating ones?_

_Merlin!_

_Fine, I'll shut up now. But when you scream like a girl because you've found a spider in your bed, the truth will out._

Arthur refused to dignify Merlin's words with a reply. Merlin chuckled to himself as he walked down the corridor. He was going to make Arthur admit it even if it killed him. Rounding the corner he pushed his way through the door into Gaius's rooms. His smile slid from his face as he saw the old man bent over a book looking worried.

"What's wrong Gaius?" Merlin asked moving over to him.

Gaius looked up at his young charge in surprise. He hadn't heard him come in, and you could normally hear Merlin coming from a mile off.

"I have found another reference to the Neith. I didn't think to look in here before I spoke to the king as it only refers to magical creatures from legends. However it is in here."

Merlin felt his heart sink at that. So this spider thing was magical after all, that could cause problems. However Merlin could see Gaius had more to say so he let him speak before he asked his questions, for once managing to hold his tongue.

"It says here that the Neith are creatures of the old religion. They are known as the spinners or weavers of destiny."

"That doesn't sound good." Merlin interrupted, then frowned, "What does it even mean?"

"Apparently they have a strong sense of fate, often affecting people's destinies."

Merlin frowned utterly confused.

"What?" He asked bewildered.

"I don't know. That is just what it says here." Gaius sighed in frustration, "I have been wracking my brains all afternoon to try and understand it. There are only two explanations I can come up with: Either Arthur and your destiny is so strong that it has drawn the Neith here, or your destiny has drawn it into existence."

"What?" Merlin asked confused, "Drawn it into existence? How?"

"Well according to this the Neith are often seen in places where people have important destinies to fulfil. They can help them achieve this destiny or can destroy it."

"But I thought you said that they haven't been seen for hundreds of years?"

"They haven't but then there hasn't been anyone with a destiny as strong as yours and Arthur's for that long either. It could be that one has appeared after all this time because they have an interest in your destiny."

Merlin was thoroughly confused now. How could his and Arthur's destiny have drawn a species from extinction, it just didn't make sense. Gaius seemed to sense that he had confused the boy and tried to explain it a way he would understand.

"Just because they haven't been seen for so long doesn't mean that they were extinct. They aren't like normal creatures. They are drawn to people with strong destinies and have only ever been witnessed at pivotal points in peoples' lives. They were either there to help them achieve their destiny or to prevent them at all cost. When there is no destiny strong enough to sustain them they fade into the ether but are always ready to return when a strong destiny, such as Arthur and yours, is born."

"So this creature..."

"The Neith." Gaius corrected.

"... is either here to help us achieve our destiny or destroy us?" Merlin asked, finally understanding.

"I'm afraid so."Gaius said gravely.

_Knowing our luck it's probably here to kill us._

Merlin nearly jumped out his skin at Arthur's thought. He had completely forgotten about the prince, being so absorbed in his conversation with Gaius. The elder man frowned at the young boy as he saw him flinch and a panicked look cross his face.

"Are you alright Merlin?" He asked concerned.

"Me? I'm fine." Merlin replied jumpily, faking a deep yawn he excused himself, "I'm really tired, I think I'm just going to go to bed."

Gaius frowned as Merlin scuttled into his room, closing the door behind him swiftly. The elder man shook his head and turned back to the book, he would never understand that boy.

Merlin sank down onto his bed and ignored Arthur's chuckling inside his head. He had forgotten about their link when he was talking to Gaius and only now was he realising how lightly he had gotten off. If Gaius had mentioned his magic Arthur was bound to have heard and all his hard work would have been for nothing. Frustration at the laughing prince boiled inside him.

_Shut up Arthur _He growled angrily.

_Touchy. So what's the deal with this Neith thing? _Arthur replied curiously.

_Well it's either here to help us achieve our destiny or kill us so it isn't fulfilled._

_I got that bit, but what was Gaius talking about? Our destiny? _

Merlin's heart sank as he realised he might not have gotten off as lightly as he thought. There was no way he could reveal their destiny without telling Arthur about his magic. Instead he decided feigning ignorance was the best course of action.

_I don't know Arthur. Apparently he thinks there is some important destiny we have to fulfil._

Arthur's confusion was clear in Merlin's mind but he kept his blocks in place and tried to keep the rest of his mind blank. He vaguely registered the amount of effort it was taking him to keep them up and knew if he didn't rest soon they were going to collapse.

Arthur however seemed oblivious to Merlin's fatigue as he was absorbed in his own thoughts.

_Well I understand that I'd have a destiny to fulfil, I am a prince after all. But what would Merlin have to do with it, he's just a servant._

_Hey, I can hear you!_

Arthur felt a twinge of guilt at Merlin's thought. He had forgotten that Merlin could hear him, which, after being stuck like this for weeks, was a surprise. He yawned and decided it was just tiredness. He moved away from the window he had been gazing absently out of and sat down on his bed.

_I know, _He lied, _I was just wondering how our destinies are related when you're just my servant._

_Someone told me once that we were two sides of the same coin. _Merlin remembered with a smile.

_Great, _Arthur muttered sarcastically, _So there's no escape, I'm stuck with you._

_You don't need to sound so upset._

Merlin's hurt was plain through their bond but Arthur ignored it. He hoped that this 'two sides of the same coin' nonsense didn't mean that they were going to be stuck with this mind thing for ever because, as much as he liked Merlin, it was driving him mad to have him inside his head.

_Aw you like me. _Merlin teased cheekily, proving Arthur's point.

_I do not. _Arthur shot back automatically, feeling his cheeks flush,_ You drive me insane._

Merlin just giggled at this.

_Gods Merlin you're such a girl. _

Arthur's insult was punctuated with a yawn, killing the effect he was going for. Merlin jumped up at that, aware that he was supposed to be helping the prince prepare for bed. However Arthur waved his concern away as he climbed into bed.

_Did you actually wave me away when we're not even in the same room? _Merlin asked, barely stifling his giggles.

_No it was a metaphorical wave. _Arthur replied grumpily, realising that Merlin was right but not wanting to admit it, _Anyway I don't need you to help me I'm already in bed._

Merlin frowned at this news as he noticed that the yawning prince was already in bed despite the fact Merlin hadn't drawn him a bath or closed his curtains or any of the things he normally did each evening.

_Merlin I'm not a complete idiot, I can do some things myself._

_Well why do you make me do them then? _Merlin asked exasperated.

_We've been through this, it's because I have much more important things to and because it's your job._

_No I remember now, it's because you're a prat._

Merlin smiled as he felt Arthur rolling his eyes. He could tell that Arthur hadn't done half the things he was claiming to have done, there was no way he would have carried his own water up from the well and heated it all by himself.

_Fine I may have got another servant to draw me a bath but I did the rest myself. _Arthur said defensively.

_Of course you did Arthur. _Merlin replied absently.

He cast round to make sure there was nothing else he had left to do that day. His body was aching with weariness and he decided that following Arthur's advise, for once, and getting an early night was probably the best course of action. He was about to get undressed when he realised that Arthur was still snooping in his thoughts. He felt a deep blush colour his cheeks at the thought of the other boy seeing him changing. It didn't matter that he'd seen Arthur in various states of undress during his duties; it was different if it was Arthur seeing him. He pushed Arthur out of his thoughts forcefully and, when he was satisfied it was only him in his mind, he started to get changed.

Arthur smiled fondly at this as he snuggled into his duvet. At least Merlin seemed less stressed than he had this morning. Now the only thing he had left to do was find out what was causing the other boy's lack of sleep and refusal to stop working. A plan formed in his mind and a wicked grin appeared on his face. Merlin was so tired that he could keep up his blocks forever. Arthur's best bet was to wait until the other boy fell asleep and then, when his blocks were down, pry in his mind to find out what was wrong.

_Hey! You are not eavesdropping on my thoughts while I sleep! _Merlin exclaimed.

_So you're letting me in now are you? _Arthur asked, ignoring Merlin's comment.

Merlin stuck his tongue out at the empty room and climbed into bed.

_Anyway what makes you think you're going to be able to stay awake long enough to spy on my dreams?_

_Because you haven't had a proper night's sleep in weeks and so are exhausted. _Arthur reasoned proudly.

_Well I'm not the one who's been yawning throughout our conversation. _

Arthur struggled to come up with a comeback whilst fighting to keep his eyes open. His bed was just so warm and cosy. It couldn't hurt if he just closed his eyes for a second. He'd eavesdrop on Merlin in a moment, once he'd...

Merlin smiled as Arthur's thoughts tailed off and the prince slipped into a deep sleep. He snuggled into his own bed, which wasn't half as cosy as Arthur's, and shut his eyes, sleep claiming him in seconds. It did briefly cross Merlin's mind before he fell asleep that he could now spy on Arthur's dreams, but he didn't have the energy to keep himself awake long enough to try.

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**Will Arthur ever be able to stay awake long enough to spy on Merlin? Thanks to neon rose for some of the ideas in this chapter, don't worry there is more of it too come *wink*. Please review. x**


	10. Chapter 10

_**Double digits! Once again I officially love you guys for all your wonderful reviews, I can't thank you enough. Sorry about how long it took me to update but I had problems with the start of this chapter. I know lots of you are looking forward to more of Arthur's eavesdropping but I'm afraid you'll just have to wait a couple more chapters for that, sorry. As always I'd love to know what you think. Thanks and enjoy. x**_

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Previously

Arthur struggled to come up with a comeback whilst fighting to keep his eyes open. His bed was just so warm and cosy. It couldn't hurt if he just closed his eyes for a second. He'd eavesdrop on Merlin in a moment, once he'd...

Merlin smiled as Arthur's thoughts tailed off and the prince slipped into a deep sleep. He snuggled into his own bed, which wasn't half as cosy as Arthur's, and shut his eyes, sleep claiming him in seconds. It did briefly cross Merlin's mind before he fell asleep that he could now spy on Arthur's dreams, but he didn't have the energy to keep himself awake long enough to try

* * *

Merlin had made sure to wake up early, for once, so that Arthur didn't have a chance to try and spy on his dreams that morning. He had lots to do anyway. They were due to ride out to find the Neith at dawn. He had to all but drag a reluctant Arthur out of bed and down to his horse. Merlin needn't have worried about Arthur's eavesdropping as he was way too preoccupied with his own thoughts to worry about Merlin's.

They had set off accompanied by a dozen knights and had been riding in silence for several hours. Normally if they had been silent for this long Arthur would be complaining about how he normally couldn't shut Merlin up and now he wasn't saying anything. However it was Arthur who was silently brooding this time. Merlin had tried to engage him in conversation a couple of times only to have his head bitten off by the irritable prince. If the knights noticed anything unusual about their leader they weren't saying anything. Though Merlin could tell from the looks on their faces that they were missing his and Arthur's usual banter, which was their only source of entertainment on the long trips.

They had entered into a forest moments earlier and the silence was pressing in on them from all sides, the normal country sounds muffled by the trees. It was driving Merlin insane and he decided to risk talking to Arthur again.

_Are you alright? _Merlin asked tentatively, without any of his usual teasing.

Arthur looked up sharply, jolted out of his musings by Merlin's voice. He glanced at his friend and tried to smile reassuringly.

_Of course I'm fine. Why would you think otherwise?_

Merlin scoffed at this, earning him some strange looks from the knights.

_Oh no reason. Just the fact that you've bitten the head off anyone whose tried to talk to you, that you seem to be shaking with fear and, oh yeah, I can read your mind._

Arthur glared at Merlin who just smiled back innocently.

_I am NOT scared Merlin. How many more times do we have go through this?_

_Until your thoughts reflect what you're saying._

Merlin smiled in triumph as Arthur groped round for a witty comeback. Failing to find one he decided threats were the best course of action.

_Well unless you want to be cleaning my stables for a week I suggest you shut up. _

Merlin laughed, warranting him another glare from Arthur.

_Fine, I'll leave you alone with your fear._

_I am NOT..._

Arthur's protests were cut off by a crashing sound from up ahead. The group froze and gazed round warily. Arthur instantly assumed his role of commander and indicated that they should continue slowly. They urged their horses forward, Arthur taking the lead with Merlin close behind him.

Slowly the horses followed the path until there was another crashing sound, closer this time. Merlin glanced round fearfully. The closely packed trees were blocking out most of the bright sunlight making the forest feel gloomy and intimidating. He felt his horse shift anxiously beneath him, reflecting the apprehension he was feeling. Gently patting his horses neck, Merlin whispered reassuring words in it's ear. His horse had always been a calm creature, part of the reason why Merlin had chosen him, and it was unusual for him to get so freaked out.

Merlin had an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. He caught Arthur's eye and saw the other boy was looking worse than he felt. Merlin knew that whatever happened with the Neith he had to make sure Arthur was alright.

_I can look after myself you know Merlin. _

He was trying to regain some of their usual cheerful banter but the words seemed flat to the both of them. Before Merlin could answer there was a third tremendous crash to their left. The group jumped and, as one, their heads whipped round to stare at the place where the sound had come from. They were straining to catch even the smallest glimpse of the creature they were hunting.

Arthur dismounted and indicated that his knights should do likewise. Reluctantly Merlin followed suit and moved over to Arthur's side. Arthur was gazing into the trees as if he thought if he looked hard enough he would be able to see through them. His knights got into formation behind the pair and Arthur moved off, away from the road and into the trees.

_Great we're going into the dark gloomy trees; this is definitely going to end well. _

Merlin's sarcastic comment cut through Arthur's mind, destroying his concentration. So far he had been concentrating on the hunt and ignoring the fear which was threatening to overpower him. But as his concentration faltered the fear broke through it's bonds, halting Arthur mid-stride. For a moment he thought that the fear was going to overtake him but he managed to regain control. It was just a spider for crying out loud, it wasn't any different to any of the other magical creatures he had fought before and he had never felt like this facing them. He hoped that once they were actually facing it adrenalin would take over and he would forget all about this stupid fear.

If he was honest with himself the only thing that was keeping him from having an internal panic attack was that Merlin could hear his every thought. He had been brought up not to show weakness to anyone, even his friends, and it went against every fibre of his being to let Merlin realise how terrified he really was. He drew his sword and heard the comforting noise of his knights doing the same behind him. He moved forward carefully, trying not to make a sound. He knew this was probably futile as Merlin was bound to trip over a root and give away their position. Sure enough, a few steps into the trees Merlin cursed as a he caught his footing on a stray root and stumbled forward.

_Merlin we're trying to keep this thing from finding us so could you try and not trip over for once in your life. _

Arthur ignored the insults that Merlin was thinking and concentrated on the task in hand. The group moved forward slowly, flinching at every sound in the trees around them. Arthur could feel the fear emanating from the rest of the group matching his and briefly considered whispering words of reassurance to them. However he realised that it would probably be obvious that he was feeling the same way if he spoke and he couldn't have them seeing his weakness.

As the trees got thicker it became harder and harder to see their surroundings. Arthur moved forward tentatively and caught his foot on a rock beneath him. With a very Merlin-like stumble Arthur grabbed hold of a tree to keep himself upright. He felt something sticky beneath his palm and pulled his hand back to see that there was a sticky white substance strung between his hand and the tree.

"What on earth?" He whispered bemused.

Hearing Arthur's exclamation Merlin moved closer to his master and inspected the almost fluffy substance. He was unwilling to touch it in case it turned out to be dangerous but he lent in closer to try and determine what it was.

_Great, now he tells me it might be dangerous. _Arthur sighed exasperated.

_Stop moaning Arthur, I didn't tell you to put your hand in it._

Merlin straightened up and glanced round at the trees. His eyes, being much sharper then Arthur's, were able to pick out what the prince had missed. The same white substance that was on Arthur's hands was strung between many of the trees in intricate patterns. Merlin's brow furrowed as he tried to work out what it could be. Realisation dawned on him and he turned to Arthur, his eyes alight with understanding.

_Look, _He thought, not wanting to break the eerie silence, _Between the trees. Can you see it?_

Arthur gazed round at the trees puzzled, unsure what Merlin was babbling about. But as he looked his eyes adjusted more to the gloom. What he had previously dismissed as tricks of the light were actually net-like objects hanging between the trees.

_They're webs Arthur, _Merlin exclaimed, rolling his eyes, _Don't tell me you've never seen a spiders web before._

_I don't tend to get near enough to inspect them thoroughly, _Arthur growled wiping his hand clean on his trousers.

_Oh yes, I remember; it's because you're scared._

Arthur ground his teeth at Merlin's insistence of something that wasn't even true. He decided ignoring him would be the best option and turned to his knights instead.

"We're nearing it's lair, be careful of traps." Arthur whispered, "Oh and mind out for the webs."

The group moved on, deeper into the undergrowth. The unease Merlin had been feeling was growing. He had this nagging feeling that something was going to happen, something bad. What worried him more though, was that at any other time Arthur would be endlessly teasing him for being such a girl and telling him how there was nothing to worry about and that he was just overreacting. However the silence coming from Arthur's end of the bond was more worrying than any feelings of dread.

_Shut up Merlin I'm trying to concentrate._

_I can't even think without being told off? Seriously my life is so unfair._

Arthur hushed him and proceed forward. They continued like this for sometime in relative silence. Arthur froze as he heard a crash behind them. He spun round frantically, fearful that the creature had crept up behind them. However, to his relief, it was just one of his knights who had tripped over in a fall that would have been spectacular even for Merlin.

_Hey! I can hear you!_

Arthur ignored Merlin as he continued to watch the knight, his eyes wide with shock. The knight had stumbled into one of the webs between the trees. Standing up he had tried to shake himself free off the web and brush himself down. However the web seemed to have come alive and was slowly wrapping itself tighter around the man. As the others watched in apprehension the web bound itself round the man's body, covering him in the silk netting. The man thrashed, trying to break free of the bond, but the web was too strong. It wrapped itself around his face and in seconds he was just a thrashing cocoon. Moments later the thrashing stopped and Arthur knew for certain that the webbing had cut off his air supply and the poor man had suffocated.

He turned away with a small shudder and whispered a brief prayer for his fallen comrade. He glanced at Merlin and saw that the other boy was as white as a sheet. Arthur briefly considered trying to comfort the boy but he had never been very good at that sort of thing, and he was feeling a hundred times worse than Merlin looked. Instead he turned forward, eyeing the gloom in front of him warily.

"We've got to keep going." He called behind him softly, "And keep away from the webs."

_What a way to state the obvious mate. _Merlin scoffed.

Although it annoyed him, Arthur found comfort in Merlin's teasing; it added a little normality to the strange situation, though he would never tell the other boy.

_You don't need to tell me, I already know. It's like a second sense. _

Arthur rolled his eyes and the group continued their progress, even slower than before. They continued like this for a few moments when the trees gave way to a large clearing. They paused at the edge of the trees while Arthur scanned the clearing suspiciously. He really didn't want to go through it but he could see that any path round it was blocked by the creepy man-eating webs.

_They don't eat people Arthur. They're just storing them so the spider can eat them later. _Merlin chipped in unhelpfully.

_Well that makes it so much better then. _Arthur replied sarcastically.

Satisfied that the clearing was devoid of any giant creatures Arthur proceeded into it, followed closely by a wary Merlin.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Thanks so much to everyone who's reviewed, please keep it up I love to read your comments. This is a quick update for me and I will try to continue updating quickly, try being the key word there. Thanks and enjoy. x**_

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Previously

They paused at the edge of the trees while Arthur scanned the clearing suspiciously. He really didn't want to go through it but he could see that any path round it was blocked by the creepy man-eating webs.

_They don't eat people Arthur. They're just storing them so the spider can eat them later. _Merlin chipped in unhelpfully.

_Well that makes it much better then. _Arthur replied sarcastically.

Satisfied that the clearing was devoid of any giant creatures Arthur proceeded into it followed closely by a wary Merlin.

* * *

Cautiously they entered the clearing, eyes peeled for any sign of the Neith. Their progress forward was slow but no one really wanted to leave the safety of the trees. Fear radiated off the group as they surveyed the clearing. They kept their tight formation; Arthur and Merlin at the front and the rest of the knights close behind. The forest seemed too quiet to be natural and Merlin was sure that this was a sign the Neith was nearby, not that he was going to tell Arthur that.

_Too late. In future I'd rather you kept your thoughts about the whereabouts of giant spiders to yourself._

However Arthur had already come to that conclusion before Merlin had thought it. The clearing was littered with mutilated bodies, some human some animal. Many were still half covered in the web. Looking round he saw that the trees at the edge of the clearing all had the silk strung between them, blocking any entrance. The webs had to be at least seven foot tall, taller than any of them, and Arthur realised how lucky they were to have found one of the few entrances to the clearing. Glancing round he realised that there was an entrance straight in front of them and another slightly to the right of it. Apart from the one they had come through they were the only other entrances, which relieved Arthur as he saw it would be easy for them to see if the Neith arrived.

Arthur groaned as he saw that Merlin's attention had been drawn elsewhere. He had been inspecting the bodies around the clearing and, with no thought for his own safety, he had rushed over to the other side of the clearing and was checking them for signs of life.

"Merlin!" Arthur hissed in annoyance.

Merlin however ignored Arthur's frantic call and continued to move round the clearing, checking to see if there was anyone he could help.

_Merlin, get back here right now!_

He looked up to see Arthur glaring at him and the rest of the knights looking on in confusion. He could sense the worry flowing through the bond from Arthur, as much as he was trying to hide it, and smiled reassuringly at him before turning back to the man next to him.

_It's fine Arthur. The Neith's not here and it can only get in through those two entrances, you said so yourself. I need to see if there's anything I can do to help._

Arthur growled at his stubborn friend. Why did Merlin always need to help people without a thought for the danger he put himself in?

_Because if I didn't you'd be dead ten times over._

_Merlin there's nothing you can do for them, they're dead. Now get back over here, we're a hunting party not a medical one._

Before Merlin could reply the man next to him let out a low groan. Merlin's attention snapped away from Arthur immediately. He inspected the man's injuries, trying to assess the damage. He seemed to be in one piece, which was more than Merlin could say for any of the other victims. However there was a large gash in the man's side which was pouring blood over his clothing. Merlin grabbed a handful of the ripped material that was littering the ground and pressed it to the man's wound. But he knew in his heart that it was hopeless. The man had lost too much blood; he wasn't going to make it.

He let out a few more unintelligible noises while Merlin muttered soothing words to him. Cradling the man's head in his lap Merlin saw the light in his eyes go out and felt his body go limp. He heard sobs and it took him a while to realise that they were his own. He wiped his eyes angrily, knowing it was stupid to be crying over a man he didn't even know, a man who he knew wasn't going to make it.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Arthur standing over him. He roughly wiped the remaining tears away and waited for Arthur's teasing that he was such a girl.

_You did all you could, he wasn't going to make it._

Merlin was shocked by Arthur's kind words which were the last thing he'd expected, Arthur wasn't usually very big on emotions.

_Come on we have a job to do. _Arthur noticed that a few tears were still running down his friends face, _No man is worth your tears._

Arthur moved back to his knights who hadn't moved from their position by the trees. Merlin laid the man carefully down on the ground and closed his eyelids gently. His whispered a soft prayer over the man.

He was about to leave the man and follow Arthur when there was an almighty crash from his right. Merlin's head jerked round to see a large shape making its way through the forest. A gasp escaped his lips as he realised what it must be. He glanced down at the man next to him and realised what he hadn't before. The man's wound had been fresh, fresh enough to mean that the Neith was probably still nearby. Their voices must have drawn it back.

_Great, you could have thought of that earlier, it might have saved us a lot of hassle._

Merlin ignored Arthur as he stood up, all too aware of the man's blood that was coating his hands and clothes. He slowly started to move towards Arthur and the knights but froze when he saw the shape was getting closer. Everyone in the clearing had their eyes focused on the dark shape. Arthur could practically feel his men shaking behind him and would have said something but he was pretty sure he was just as bad.

As they watched, the dark outline came into view through the trees. The creature was easily twelve foot tall. It's legs alone had to be at least seven foot high and were supporting it's torso off the ground. It was a similar colour to the bark of the trees around it, however it's legs were covered in long hairs which made them stand out from the surrounding trees. It had pincers at the front which clicked as it moved sending shivers of disgust down Arthur's spine.

He felt a brief sense of elation as he realised it was approaching them from the opposite side of the clearing to the entrances. However this was short lived as it just lifted its legs and stepped right over the webs. Arthur felt horror grip him as the creature moved towards them. He knew that his knights were waiting for instructions but his brain wasn't functioning. Eyes wide he gazed at the creature's slow progress and heard the unmistakable sound of some of his knights fleeing.

Merlin could see that Arthur was in no state to instruct anyone and started to move over to them so that they could leave and regroup. However before he could the Neithmove forward with startlingspeed and blocked off Merlin's path. It still hadn't noticed Merlin, it's attention was focused on the considerably smaller group of knights. Merlin's mind was spinning. Gaius' words were echoing round his head. They didn't know for certain that it meant them any harm; it could be here to help them achieve their destiny. He couldn't work out what to do. Arthur's fear was seeping through their bond, infecting Merlin with the terror he was feeling.

The creature approached the group who shrank back but held their ground. Merlin was screaming in his head at Arthur to leave, to take the knights and run. But Arthur's mind was so overwhelmed with fear that he didn't register what Merlin was saying. The Neith closed in on him and a small part of Arthur's mind was screamingat him to move, to fight back, to do something, anything. But he couldn't. His muscles weren't obeying the small part of his mind that was functioning normally and were frozen with the same fear that had overtaken most of his mind. He briefly realised that it was ridiculous that the crown prince of Camelot was going to die because he couldn't get his body to obey his mind and not his fear.

The Neithwas directly in front of him, so close that he could feel the creature's hot clammy breath. The clicking from its pincers was echoing throughout his body, the sound sending shivers of horror through him. It bent it's legs, lowering it's body down to Arthur's height and Arthur closed his eyes, resigninghimself to death.

However before the creature's head could reach him Arthur felt himself pushed backwards as another, smaller, body pushed him out of the way. For a moment he thought it was Merlin being an idiot and risking his life for him like a fool. However it wasn't. Shock shot through him as he saw the newest recruit to his knights stood bravely in front of him. He wanted to scream at Sir Lucian, to tell him not to be so stupid and to save himself.

But the young knight did not. He brandished his sword in front of himself bravely. The Neith looked slightly taken aback for a moment but continued towards Lucian instead. Lucian didn't falter as the Neith's pincers closed in on him. Arthur, still frozen, could only watch in horror as the pincers pierced through Lucian's armour as easily as if it hadn't been there at all.

As the poison worked it's way through Lucian's body his sword fell from his suddenly limp grip. He became as paralyzed as Arthur, but for a totally different reason. Arthur suddenly remembered Gaius sayingthat the Neith's pincers were filled with poison which paralyzed it's victims, leaving them powerless to fight back. Every fibre of Arthur's body wanted to move forward and protect the gallant young knight, but his body just wouldn't obey him. He could only watch, helpless, as the Neith's jaws enclosed Lucian.

The crunch of breaking bones and armour echoed throughout the clearing as the creature's powerful teeth snapped the young knight in half as if he were a rag doll. The terrible crunching continued as the Neith chewed through the poor man. Arthur tore his eyes away from the horrible sight of the creature with blood pouring down its face. However his eyes landed on the mutilated body of his knight. He felt his stomach rebel and threaten to expel its contents. He managed to keep it down and dragged his eyes away from the blood soaked ground to land on Merlin on the other side of the clearing.

As the Neithattacked Lucian Merlin finally managed to pull himself out of Arthur's paralyzing emotions and push away the raw fear and horror that was coming from Arthur and threatening to engulf him again. He felt guilt well up inside of him that he hadn't been the one to push Arthur out the way, to save him. That had been his job for so long that the sight of someone else risking their life to save his friend spurred him into action as he realised Arthur was still in danger. It was clear now that the Neith was here to hinder rather than help their destiny as it was once again intent on killing Arthur.

Not that he had any idea what he was going to do. This creature was massive and there wasn't much he was going to be able to do alone. He looked back over at Arthur and saw that any knights who had remained had fled at the sight of Lucian's death. He sighed as he realised he was well and truly alone. Arthur wasn't going to be any help in his current state and he didn't even have his magic to help him.

His magic! Merlin wasn't sure why the idea hadn't come to him earlier but presumed that having been without magic for almost a month probably had something to do with it. Merlin looked deep inside himself. He could feel the pool of magic that usually flowed throughout his veins but had been constricted by the dragons block. He could feel the magic was there and knew that if he could just break the block it would be free. Throwing caution to the wind he did the only thing he could think off.

"**Bælegsa ælan ****forlor**!" Merlin shouted.

Nothinghappened. His magic was still locked inside of him. The only thing he had achieved was to turn the Neith's attention to him. Behind the Neith's bulk Merlin saw Arthur's eyes widen in shock as he realised what Merlin was doing, but he didn't have the time to deal with that. The Neithwas advancing on him. It had smelt the blood covering him and decided that he was a better meal than Arthur.

"**Bælegsa ælan ****forlor**!" Merlin repeated, putting all of his will into it.

Arthur was thoroughly confused. Was Merlin seriously trying to use magic to save them? He almost laughed at the ridiculous thought. Idiotic bumbling Merlin with magic, it couldn't be true. But there was something about the way he was saying the words. A power that seemed to be emanating from him even though nothing was happening. Realisation hit Arthur, Merlin did have magic and he was revealing that fact to the prince of a country that executed sorcerers to save his life. A rush of emotions flowed through Arthur at this thought and it seemed as if they were flowing through the bond to Merlin.

He staggered slightly as energy seemed to flow from him into Merlin. He could feel his friend's power growing and could sense there was a third person adding their power to Merlin's. Arthur blinked and suddenly he was seeing the world through Merlin's eyes. He could see the Neith approaching him, see himself frozen on the other side of the clearing. Merlin repeated the strange words once more and Arthur felt himself say them with him.

"**Bælegsa ælan ****forlor**!"

The Neith paused and staggered backwards slightly away from Merlin. It could sense the power pouring from the young warlock which was slowly pushing him backwards. However just as Arthur thought it was beat it took another step towards Merlin, more determined than ever.

"**Bælegsa ælan ****forlor**!"

Arthur heard, in his mind rather than aloud, another voice join theirs in the spell. A musical more feminine voice that Arthur recognised but couldn't place. This time the spell seemed to work. Arthur felt something break inside Merlin and the power inside him, that had been suppressed for so long, pour out. The Neithwas hit by the raw power and it burst into flames. The smell of burnt flesh filled Arthur's nostrils as he was jolted back to his own body. He tried to take a step forward and found himself drained off energy. Collapsing on the floor he looked across the clearing to see Merlin, looking so small without the power pouringfrom him, gazing back at him fearfully.


	12. Chapter 12

_**So I didn't managed to get this up quickly but to make up for that this chapter is quite long and should answer some of the questions people had. Huge thanks to everyone who has made it this far and to everyone who has reviewed, especially to anonymous and neon rose who weren't logged in so I couldn't reply and thank them. Also thanks to Roses-as-lips for the beta. I hope you enjoy this. x **_

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Previously

The Neith paused and staggered backwards slightly away from Merlin. It could sense the power pouring from the young warlock which was slowly pushing him backwards. However just as Arthur thought it was beat it took another step towards Merlin, more determined than ever.

"**Bælegsa ælan forlor**!"

Arthur heard, in his mind rather than aloud, another voice join theirs in the spell. A musical more feminine voice that Arthur couldn't place. This time the spell seemed to work. Arthur felt something break inside Merlin and the power inside him, that had been suppressed for so long, pour out. The Neith was hit by the raw power and it burst into flames. The smell of burnt flesh filled Arthur's nostrils as he was jolted back to his own body. He tried to take a step forward and found himself drained of energy. Collapsing on the floor he looked across the clearing to see Merlin, looking so small without the power pouring from him, looking back at him fearfully.

* * *

Merlin watched Arthur warily, trying to gauge his reaction. He had tried to read Arthur's thoughts but his mind was blank with confusion. His expression was unreadable as well, his face vacant and unresponsive. Merlin stood quietly, waiting for Arthur to recover. Not wanting to startle him he tried not to make any noise but Arthur seemed oblivious to everything.

After waiting in silence for a couple of minutes Merlin felt his patience dying away. He had never been able to stay silent for long and the tension that was filling the clearing was killing him. He felt he was going to go insane if Arthur didn't speak soon. Deciding that waiting for the other boy wasn't going to get him anywhere, Merlin spoke first.

"Arthur?" He asked hesitantly.

He had debated using their link but he didn't want Arthur to feel he was intruding, especially if he was mad at him. Arthur, who was still staring blankly at Merlin, didn't seem to register his words. Merlin frowned at the prince concerned. He was worried that the shock might have been too much for him, though he didn't think that likely as Arthur had never seemed fragile.

Merlin took a couple of hesitant steps towards Arthur, who just continued to stare at the spot Merlin had just vacated. Skirting round the burnt remains of the Neith Merlin approached Arthur slowly. His footfalls were the only noises in the clearing. After the heat and noise of the battle the silence seemed to be pressing in on Merlin, almost suffocating him, he needed Arthur to say something.

"Arthur?" He repeated softly.

By this point Merlin was now stood in front of Arthur who was still sat on the floor. He lifted his gaze to meet Merlin's and tried to speak. However all that came out was unintelligible nonsense. Merlin chuckled and plonked himself down on the ground next to Arthur. He sat quietly, waiting for Arthur to try and speak again. His patience failed him once again and he nudged Arthur softly.

"It would be great if you could say something right now."

Arthur's mind was whirring. He was still trying to process what had just happened. Merlin was a sorcerer? That couldn't really be true could it? Clumsy bumbling Merlin couldn't be a sorcerer, it wasn't possible. Arthur had been taught his whole life that magic was evil, that it could only be used for evil and that anyone who possessed it should be killed or they would destroy Camelot and all he stood for. But he couldn't make any of that sound sensible now he knew Merlin's secret. Merlin didn't have an evil bone in his body, Arthur had spent the last month sharing thoughts with the man, he should know.

Doubt started creeping in as Arthur realised that Merlin had managed to hide his magic for that time, maybe there were other things he had been hiding. He pushed the thought away angrily. Merlin had been in Camelot for over a year and he had never been anything other than a slightly annoying, loyal servant...and friend. Because although Arthur denied it they were friends, he was perhaps the only true friend Arthur had ever had. The thought of the other boy killed for his magic made Arthur's heart ache, though he wasn't really sure why.

However a huge part of his mind was still denying what had just happened. He was groping round for a logical explanation of what had just happened. He glanced over at Merlin's innocent face that was gazing at him concerned and realised he was going to have to confront this issue. He felt dread build up inside him at that thought, he hated touchy feely emotional moments, he just didn't know how to handle them.

"You're a sorcerer." Was the only thing Arthur could manage.

"Yes." Merlin replied slowly, "Well I prefer warlock but it's pretty much the same thing."

He frowned as Arthur started shaking his head at this. He was severely concerned for the prince's sanity, but was more worried about how his friend was going to react.

"But that's not possible."

_He's going for denial then_, Merlin thought and smiled slightly.

Arthur glared daggers at him and returned to building an argument against Merlin being a sorcerer.

"But you can't be a sorcerer."

This sounded pathetic to Arthur's own ears but he was slowly managing to convince himself that it had all been a trick and Merlin was just playing a really bad joke on him.

"Why not?"

Arthur blanched, that wasn't the reply he'd been expecting. He opened and closed his mouth silently, trying to formulate a reply however his mind seemed to have turned to mush and all he could do was stare at Merlin blankly.

Merlin rolled his eyes as Arthur seemed to have reverted back to stunned silence. He looked at Arthur's thoughts trying to gauge which way his reaction was leaning. However he found Arthur's mind in turmoil. Most of his thoughts seemed to be denying that it was possible for Merlin to have magic. The young warlock realised he was going to have to give Arthur some indisputable evidence. He turned to look at the ground in front of them and spotted a small stick lying on the ground.

"**Ábregdan**."

His eyes flashed gold and the twig lifted itself of the ground a couple of centimetres. Arthur's eyes widened as he saw the twig move and he glanced at Merlin who was smiling at him hesitantly. He shook his head again, more violently. Screwing his eyes tight shut he sank his head into his hands.

Merlin sighed at his stubborn friend. It wasn't like that was the first time Arthur had seen magic used. Granted this was probably the first time he had discovered someone close to him had magic. He could hear the battle raging inside Arthur's head. All his father's lessons about how evil magic was were fighting with all Arthur knew about Merlin. He just hoped that Arthur would realise that his father didn't know everything.

_But you're too much of an idiot to learn to be a sorcerer. _Arthur's voice had failed him so he had reverted to their bond to communicate.

"Thanks Arthur." Merlin replied sarcastically, "But I didn't learn magic, I was born like this."

Arthur lifted his head from his hands and stared at his friend in disbelief.

"That's not possible." He whispered.

"So people keep telling me, but here I am." Merlin joked.

Arthur scoffed slightly and felt a small smile appear on his face. Merlin smiled back shyly, finding it hard to judge the prince's mood. Arthur sat up straighter, deciding it was time he took control of the situation. He was the prince of Camelot for goodness sake; he wasn't going to let some sorcerer confuse him like this.

"That sounds more like the Arthur Pendragon I know." Merlin said hearing Arthur's thought.

Arthur turned his body so he was facing the brunette and inspected him closely. Merlin flushed at the close inspection but didn't remove his gaze from Arthur's. Arthur didn't know what he was searching for. His eyes moved over Merlin's pink face which looked the same as always, apart from the dark bags under his eyes which had been troubling Arthur for the past couple of weeks. However he pushed that aside as he had bigger problems to deal with at the moment.

He bit his lip in frustration as Merlin didn't seem to be any different. Arthur wasn't sure what he had been expecting but he wanted there to be some sort of definite feature that showed he was a sorcerer. However Merlin still looked like the clumsy servant he had always been, not like the powerful sorcerer Arthur had glimpsed moments earlier.

"So you're a sorcerer." Arthur said slowly, aware that he had already said this but failing to come up with anything else.

"Last time I checked yeah." Merlin replied brightly, pleased that Arthur didn't look like he was about to get angry or resort to violence.

Arthur's brain still wasn't functioning well enough to register anything more than stunned disbelief. However more of his mind was starting to shake off the stunned feeling and he was slowly managing to think properly. And as he did he realised something that he should have thought of earlier. Something that replaced the shock with anger.

Merlin felt the anger seeping into him from Arthur and closed his eyes in grief. He knew what was coming, he had been expecting it from the beginning but had been hoping that maybe Arthur wouldn't be too mad. Apparently Arthur wasn't listening to that thought as his eyes narrowed and he glared at Merlin.

"Well if you are really a sorcerer why the hell is this the first I'm hearing of it?" Arthur barked.

Merlin opened his eyes and started back at Arthur incredulous. He had obviously read Arthur's thoughts wrong as he had thought the prince was mad that he had magic, not mad that he hadn't told him.

"In case you hadn't noticed your father isn't exactly fond of magic. I would get executed if anyone found out."

"So? What has my father's views got to do with anything?"

_Wow he is slow at the moment. _Merlin thought earning himself a deeper glare from Arthur.

"Because you're the prince. You have been raised to believe that magic is evil, how was I to know that you wouldn't tell your father and have me executed, that you won't tell him now?" Merlin asked.

Arthur frowned, that did make sense. Would he have told his father about Merlin if he had told him earlier? He still wasn't sure what he was going to do about it now.

"I should have you executed." Arthur said slowly.

He saw Merlin's face fall and his heart nearly exploded at the sight. Merlin was his friend, could he really do that to him? But friends didn't hide things from each other. Betrayal was clouding his mind and he couldn't work out what he was supposed to be feeling. He frowned at how vulnerable Merlin looked. However Arthur knew he had huge amounts of power at his fingertips. He could probably kill me before I even had a chance to react, Arthur mused.

Merlin looked up shocked at Arthur's thought.

"I would never hurt you Arthur." Merlin said with such emotion that Arthur felt a shiver run along his spine.

"How do I know I can believe you? You have been lying to me this whole time. I told you my biggest fear and you have been keeping this a secret." Arthur's cried angrily, "I can't trust you anymore. How can I believe anything you have ever said to me? Magic is evil and so are those who practice it. You could have been planning my death and the destruction of Camelot this whole time!"

Arthur was shouting by the time he finished. He had lent forward, his face mere inches from Merlin's and he felt another swoop of emotion that wasn't part of his anger. He saw Merlin's eyes fill with tears at his words and he moved back in disgust. Merlin didn't move. He sat there gazing at Arthur sadly, fighting the tears that were threatening to pour down his face for the second time that day.

"Is that what you really think Arthur? That I've been trying to kill you?" He asked sadly.

Arthur had expected Merlin to shout back and his quiet tone shocked Arthur more than anything. He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose in despair.

"I don't know what to think anymore Merlin." He replied, calming slightly.

"I promise you Arthur, I have only ever tried to help you, to save you. I would never destroy Camelot, never." Merlin bit his lip fearful and his voice quietened as he spoke again, "I could never hurt you Arthur."

The sincerity in Merlin's voice shook Arthur's resolve to the core. He wanted to believe Merlin so badly but he had never been very good at trusting people and after Merlin's revelation he wasn't sure he would ever be able to truly forgive Merlin.

"I want to believe you Merlin but I just can't, you've lied about too much."

Merlin ran his hand through his hair in frustration. Why did Arthur have to such a prat? All Merlin had ever done was for him but the prat was too caught up in his wounded pride to see that. His face lit up as he realised how he could make Arthur believe him.

"Fine you don't have to believe what I say. I'll show you instead."

Arthur was puzzled by Merlin's words until he felt a nudge in his mind. He frowned and focused on their bond. He could feel the magic in Merlin through it and wondered how he'd missed it before. He felt most of the blocks in Merlin's mind release and a ton of images washed over him. He was reminded of the ambush in the lower town when Merlin's fear had allowed some of his memories to break through the bond and flood over Arthur.

He saw image after image flash across his vision and lost sight of his surroundings. However this time the pictures didn't seem as out of control as before and Arthur could tell that Merlin was in control of his memories this time. And Arthur realised that some of the memories were the same as he had seen in the town, but this time they weren't edited. The parts that had been fuzzy and blurred were now in focus and as clear as the rest.

Arthur saw image after image of Merlin using magic to save Arthur. He saw him save the hall from Mary Collins and then to slow down time and save Arthur. Merlin revealing the snakes on knight Valiant's shield, enchanting Lancelot's spear to save Camelot from the Griffin, saving Arthur from drowning after he was enchanted by Sophia. The images continued all of them showing the same thing; Merlin risking his life to save Arthur and Camelot from danger.

He gasped as he saw Merlin travelling to the centre of the old religion to save Arthur and being willing to trade his own life for Arthur's. He saw the extent of the boy's sacrifices for Arthur and saw how much of a prat he was to him. He realised that Merlin had had hundreds of chances to kill Arthur, or just leave him to die but he hadn't.

Then other memories accompanied them. Images of Arthur claiming the glory for Merlin's actions. Arthur lording it over Merlin, treating him badly, being a prat. He felt Merlin's confusion through the bond and realised that Merlin hadn't meant to show Arthur these memories, but he had released his blocks and Arthur was caught up in Merlin's life. He saw everything that had happened since Merlin arrived in Camelot but from the young warlock's point of view. He saw Merlin defeat Sigan, reveal Lady Catrina for what she really was, find the only way to break the love spell on Arthur. He saw himself stab the winged catlike creature that Arthur now knew was Freya and, once again, watched her die in Merlin's arms.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered as he realised that it was his fault the girl had died.

Merlin shook his head, waving aside Arthur's apology. Arthur could feel the sadness pouring from Merlin, but there was also acceptance mixed in with it and Arthur knew Merlin had made his peace with what had happened.

"It's not your fault, you didn't know. She would have killed more people if you hadn't, she couldn't help it." Merlin replied but Arthur could still feel the pain that Merlin would carry with him forever.

Arthur backtracked a few memories and landed on one that made him raise his eyebrows in disbelief. He looked at Merlin closely to see if this was one of his annoying jokes but he could sense that this memory was real.

"You kissed Gwen?" He asked slowly.

He saw Merlin's cheeks colour again and marvelled at how many times he seemed to be able to make Merlin blush.

"Technically she kissed me." Merlin replied defiantly.

Arthur felt jealousy flare inside him but it didn't seem to be in the same way as he was expecting it. He was jealous that Merlin had been kissing Gwen but he wasn't jealous that Merlin had been kissing _Gwen._ His head was spinning at the confusing train of thought his mind seemed to be following so he pushed it aside for inspection another time.

_So you've pretty much just seen my whole life yet you still have all your blocks in place, how is that even fair? _Merlin hinted.

Arthur however was frozen in awe. Merlin waved his hand in front of the prince's vacant face and when he received no reaction he looked in Arthur's mind to see what had caught his attention so avidly.

_There is a dragon under Camelot? _Arthur thought incredulously.

_Yeah. _Merlin replied, smiling at how like a child Arthur could be, _Did you not know?_

_Obviously not or I wouldn't be so surprised. _Arthur shot back sarcastically, _But how?_

_No idea. He said something about being tricked by Uther. _Merlin shrugged not really wanting to talk about the great dragon.

Arthur however had other ideas.

_So how come you get to talk to the last dragon and I didn't even know it was there? I'm the prince; surely I should get to talk to him?_

_The privileges of being a sorcerer, sorry. _Merlin teased.

Arthur pouted but dropped the subject. He remembered what Merlin had said just before he had gotten distracted and realised that the other boy was probably right. He sighed and released some of his blocks.

Merlin had to restrain himself from reeling backwards at the strength of the feelings washing over him. He could feel Arthur's fear of letting his father and Camelot down, grief for the mother he never knew, the responsibilities that he had on his shoulders, the constant battle to be his own person rather than the one his father was trying to mould him into, his confusion as to whether magic was really evil or whether his father might be wrong. He hadn't thought Arthur could have so many thoughts at once but it seemed this was what was rolling around in the prince's head every day.

_It's a wonder you don't go insane. _Merlin marvelled, _Though that would explain a lot._

Arthur made a swipe at Merlin who ducked away from it with a smile. Arthur saw the younger boy's face fall slightly and wondered what was going through his mind now. However he only had this thought for a split second before he heard what Merlin was thinking through the bond.

_He hasn't actually said he's forgiven me for lying and will keep my secret._

"Of course I forgive you, you idiot." Arthur replied with a roll of his eyes.

Merlin looked up at Arthur, his eyes shining with hope and Arthur once again felt that uncomfortable swoop in his stomach.

_Really?_

_Yes really. Besides I can't stay mad at you, I'm stuck in your head. It would be too much effort. Also I was thinking about the whole execution for being a sorcerer...._

_Warlock. _Merlin corrected him.

_Warlock, whatever. Anyway I decided it couldn't really be that pleasant to be in the mind of someone being executed so I suppose I'll have to keep your secret. _Arthur explained, pleased with his logic.

_So it's really just for your benefit, not because you like me? _Merlin replied.

The smile on Merlin's face told Arthur that he knew this wasn't really true and Arthur smiled back, pleased they had returned to their usual banter.

_Of course._

What Arthur wasn't expecting though was for Merlin to hurl himself on him and hug him tightly. Arthur froze, unsure how to deal with the others boy's sudden display of emotions. He patted him stiffly on the back and hoped that Merlin's need to get all emotional would pass. However when it didn't Arthur slowly prised the other boy from him and pushed him back to where he had been sat previously.

_Merlin you know my feelings about hugs. _Arthur reproached, _Don't do that again._

_Sorry Arthur. I just couldn't bear it if you hated me as well. _Merlin sniffled, trying to prevent tears of happiness from pouring down his face.

_As well?_

_Back at Ealdor when the villagers found out about my magic they started shunning my mother and me. That's why she sent me to Camelot, she thought I would be able to hide better there. Ealdor is a small village, well you know you've been there, once one person found out it wasn't long before everyone knew. It wasn't like we could keep our heads down and keep to ourselves._

Arthur pondered this. He couldn't imagine how Merlin had had to live his whole life, hiding who he truly was from fear of being discovered and killed. He thought back to his time in Ealdor and remembered the small town fondly. Suddenly he realised something that had confused him at the time.

_Will wasn't a sorcerer was he? You conjured the wind._

Merlin bit his lip and hoped Arthur wasn't going to be too mad about it. Arthur took that as conformation that he was right and smiled as everything now made sense.

_I always wondered why they needed our help if they had a sorcerer in their midst who could easily defeat Kanan__. But you'd left so there was no sorcerer there till we came to help._

Merlin nodded, confirming Arthur's musings. Both boys sat in silence for a while lost in their thoughts. Arthur was sorting through Merlin's memories, spotting how many times Merlin had used magic right in front of him and he hadn't noticed or had just chalked it down to good luck.

_Wow I'm slow. _He thought incredulously, wondering how he had missed the signs.

_No arguments here. _Merlin quipped.

He was sorting through Arthur's thoughts, though he wasn't sure the prince was aware of it. Most of Arthur's blocks had been released and there was only one that was still in place. Merlin paused at it wondering what it was. He was looking for the deep secret he had sensed in Arthur's mind while Arthur was building his blocks the first time. However there wasn't anything he would class as a huge secret. He returned to Arthur's remaining block and frowned as he didn't think it contained the secret. If anything the vibes coming from behind it seemed positive, very unlike a block hiding a deep secret should.

"Arthur?" He asked, deciding to speak aloud as the silence was starting to annoy him again.

"Hmm." Arthur hummed in reply, still lost in thought.

"That big secret you were hiding from me, was it your fear of spiders?" Merlin asked innocently.

Arthur looked up at Merlin sharply, shock covering his face. The two boys watched each other warily for a moment before Merlin burst out laughing. He collapsed onto the ground in hysterics. He couldn't believe that the great prince Arthur's darkest secret was that he was afraid of spiders. His laughter echoed throughout the clearing, filling the silence with his giggles.

Arthur watched Merlin distastefully for a moment. He didn't understand why Merlin found it so funny. He growled at Merlin angrily however that just made the other boy laugh harder. Arthur was having to restrain himself from running the other boy through with his sword there and then and saving the executioner a job.

Hearing this Merlin tried to calm himself down, taking huge gulps of air to try and stop his laughter. However the look on Arthur's face just set him off again. He was lying on his side by this point, unable to remain upright he was laughing so hard.

"Merlin." Arthur growled angrily.

Merlin ignored Arthur's words, closing his eyes to try and stop the tears of laughter that were pouring down his face. He was rocking backwards and forwards on the ground, shaking with laughter.

_Merlin!_

Arthur's voice was becoming more insistent but Merlin continued to ignore him. He couldn't believe that he'd had to hide his magic his whole life and Arthur's biggest secret was his fear of tiny insects.

_Merlin it's not funny! _Arthur snapped.

He cuffed the other boy round the head. Merlin was too lost in his laughter to fight back. He saw Arthur out of the corner of his eyes preparing to hit him again and sat up slowly, rubbing the back of his head. His laughter had died away to the occasional giggle and he sat up straight watching Arthur to see if he was going to get violent again. When it appeared that Arthur had calmed down Merlin relaxed and glared at his friend.

_Well that was uncalled for. _He said disgruntled.

Arthur just looked at him pointedly, refusing to justify it with a comment.

_Fine, I might have slightly deserved that, but it hurt!_

_You are such a girl Merlin._

Merlin stuck his tongue out at Arthur childishly, who just ignored him. Merlin pouted at Arthur's lack of response. He was already plotting revenge on Arthur for hitting him. Revenge that involved a large spider and Arthur's bed.

_Don't you dare! _Arthur fumed, _If you do I swear to god I will kill you._

_But then who would save your ass the next time you get in trouble which, by my calculations, will probably be in a couple of days._

Arthur threw Merlin a dirty look which caused Merlin to start giggling again. He was still feeling slightly lightheaded from his hysterics earlier and Arthur's attempt at dignified silence had set him off again.

"You are such a girl."

_You said that already Arthur, looks like you need to come up with some new insults. _Merlin thought back, his laughter preventing him from speaking aloud.

Arthur once again ignored Merlin's comment and turned to another thing that had been puzzling him.

"Speaking of girls, we still don't know who the sorceress is. And whose voice was that when you were casting the spell?" Arthur pondered.

Merlin instantly sobered up at Arthur's words as he thought back to the battle. He jumped up as he remembered what he had realised when he had heard the voice and had forgotten in the distraction of the events that had followed. Arthur looked up in surprise, wondering what on earth had gotten into Merlin.

"I know who it is." Merlin said, practically beaming with excitement.

"Who what is?" Arthur asked, baffled by Merlin's behaviour.

"Who the sorceress is. I can't believe we didn't think of it before."

And before Arthur could reply Merlin set off at a run into the trees leaving a very confused prince behind him.


	13. Chapter 13

**_Next chapter is here at last. I know you're all looking forward to finding out who the sorceress is but I'm afraid you're going to have to wait till the next chapter. It was supposed to be revealed in this chapter but I got a little carried away with this one. I'm not really sure where this chapter came from but I hope you enjoy it and I will try and update soon so you're not kept waiting for too long. Enjoy. x_**

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Previously

"Speaking of girls, we still don't know who the sorceress is. And whose voice was that when you were casting the spell?" Arthur pondered.

Merlin instantly sobered up at Arthur's words as he thought back to the battle. He jumped up as he remembered what he had realised when he had heard the voice and had forgotten in the distraction of the events that had followed. Arthur looked up in surprise, wondering what on earth had gotten into Merlin.

"I know who it is." Merlin said, practically beaming with excitement.

"Who what is?" Arthur asked, baffled by Merlin's behaviour.

"Who the sorceress is. I can't believe we didn't think of it before."

And before Arthur could reply Merlin set off at a run into the trees leaving a very confused prince behind him.

* * *

Arthur remained sat on the ground, staring at the point where Merlin had disappeared into the trees. He groaned as he dragged himself off the ground. He could feel Merlin's excitement flooding through their bond. He shook his head as he entered the trees.

_I will never understand that boy._

_Where would be the fun if you did? _Came Merlin's childish reply.

Arthur rolled his eyes but picked up his pace as he realised that Merlin was further ahead than he'd thought. He searched the young warlock's mind, trying to find out who the sorceress was and how Merlin had worked it out however Merlin seemed to be hiding those thoughts. Arthur growled in annoyance and heard Merlin laugh through their bond.

_Tut tut Arthur. You need to learn some patience._

_Merlin!_

Merlin just ignored Arthur and continued running through the forest. He was surprised that he hadn't fallen over anything yet.

_You and me both._

Merlin pulled a face at Arthur's comment and strengthened his resolve not to tell the prince anything. He could feel Arthur's annoyance through their link and smiled to himself. Making sure to avoid the webs still hanging from the trees he continued to make his way back to where they had left the horses.

Arthur saw Merlin running through the trees in his mind and started running himself to catch the other boy up. He knew how incompetent Merlin could be and wouldn't put it past him to fall into the lethal webs in his excitable state.

_Merlin! _He called to him again, _Get back here right now!_

Merlin however ignored this and continued through the forest. Arthur was moving faster now, the trees whipping past him as he jumped over stray roots and dodged round tree trunks. It didn't matter that Arthur had just found out that Merlin was a powerful sorcerer, he still couldn't help but think of him as a clumsy idiot who was way too accident prone for Arthur's liking.

_Merlin if you don't stop you're fired!_

Arthur heard Merlin scoff at this and ground his teeth in annoyance. Why did Merlin have to be so stubborn?

_Stop right now Merlin!_

Arthur felt the breath rush out of him as he collided with something very solid. He staggered backwards and looked up to see Merlin glaring at him.

"What was that for? Don't you look where you're going?" Merlin complained.

"Well what were you doing standing in the middle of the path?" Arthur grumbled, recovering from the collision.

"You told me to stop!" Merlin protested.

Arthur sighed realising Merlin was right; he hated it when Merlin was right. As he watched, Merlin's gaze shifted to something of the side of the path that Arthur realised was probably the real reason Merlin had stopped. Arthur followed his eye line and spotted one of the Neith's webs strung between the trees. However this one looked more like a cocoon than a web. Arthur felt a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach as he remembered what had happened to one of his knights.

However this was much further away from the clearing than they had been the first time they had seen the webs strike. Arthur cast his eyes round for anything that would indicate who the trapped person was. He saw Merlin move out of the corner of his eye and turned to see him bending down and picking up a torn piece of fabric. Fabric that definitely belonged to the outfit of a knight of Camelot. Arthur turned back to the web to see a discarded shield lying at the base of it.

He moved towards it carefully, eyeing the web fearfully. He didn't like being this close to anything that had come from a spider, especially something he knew was eating his knights.

_We went through this; it's not eating them, just storing them._

_Now is so not the time for that piece of information Merlin._

He picked the shield up slowly, preparing himself in case the web started to try and eat him as well. He felt Merlin rolling his eyes but ignored him. Backing away he turned the shield over and read the name engraved on the back.

Sir Kay.

Arthur felt as if he had been punched in the gut. He had known Kay his whole life. He had been like an older brother to Arthur and had helped him out when he had first taken over the knights. They had been really close and Arthur felt his loss like an ache inside him.

Merlin turned round at the silence penetrating from Arthur. He suddenly realised that he wasn't getting anything at all through the bond. It was as if Arthur had shut down on his end. Merlin recognised the look on Arthur's face; it was the same one he used to disguise his feelings during diplomatic meetings.

_Arthur?_

He took a step towards the prince and grabbed hold of him as Arthur staggered backwards slightly. He felt Arthur's legs fail beneath him and, unable to hold the prince up, they sank to the floor.

"Arthur? What's wrong?"

Merlin shook Arthur slightly however he remained staring blankly forward. Merlin was really worried now. Something was wrong with Arthur and he was blocking him out so fiercely that Merlin couldn't even look in his mind and find out what was wrong.

_Arthur please say something, you're scaring me.  
_

Arthur turned to see Merlin's pale face gazing at him, worry etched in his features. Something about the fear on Merlin's face caused a rush of emotion through him and the block he was using to keep Merlin out broke. He saw the shock on Merlin's face as the torrent of emotions hit him.

Merlin was reeling from the emotions pouring through the bond. Merlin had often seen Arthur and Kay together and knew that Arthur was more himself around the man than any of his other knights but he hadn't known the extent of their friendship. He could feel Arthur's pain in the pit of his stomach, almost as if it was his own grief. The aching despair reminded Merlin of the people he'd lost; Will, Freya. But he pushed the memories aside, knowing that he couldn't add to Arthur's grief.

The sharp pain that Arthur had felt at the discovery of his friend had lessened to a dull ache as his block had broken. He almost felt as if Merlin was taking some of the pain, carrying it for him because he couldn't manage it all.

_You know what they say; a problem shared..._

_...Is a problem halved. _Arthur finished, _I never understood that._

_That's because you like to push your problems and feelings deep inside you and always refuse to ask for help._

Arthur felt stunned at Merlin's words. He was right; Arthur hated anything even vaguely emotional. He didn't know how to deal with it if it was someone else and hated anyone to see him vulnerable. It was probably the result of being raised by Uther who condemned any show of emotion. He breathed deeply, calming the pit of raging emotions inside of him.

_Arthur? Are you okay? _Merlin asked tentatively.

Arthur stood up briskly, averting his eyes from the cocoon that had been his friend. He looked down to see that his abrupt change of position had caused Merlin to fall backwards slightly. He felt a slight pang of guilt and offered Merlin his hand. Merlin eyed the proffered hand warily, knowing Arthur was fond of dropping Merlin back in the mud after pulling him halfway up.

Hearing this Arthur rolled his eyes and left Merlin to scramble up alone. He picked the discarded shield up, not wanting to leave it behind. He could feel Merlin's worry and was well aware that he hadn't answered Merlin's question. Of course he wasn't okay but what could Merlin do about it?

_I could listen._

Arthur turned to face the warlock with a slight frown. He had never been one to speak about his feelings, Merlin was well aware of that, and he wasn't going to start now. He felt Merlin's sigh of exasperation as Arthur turned and set off into the forest again.

_Did you know that you are the most stubborn prat I have ever met? _Merlin asked as he fell into step next to Arthur.

_Yeah, you tell me at least twice a day._

They continued through the forest like this, each trying to outwit the other. The familiarity of their banter calmed Arthur and he felt the despair inside him lessen as Merlin took his mind off it. From the smile he could see on the other boy's face this had probably been his intention. He sighed, how did Merlin always know how to make him feel better?

_Because I'm your better half. _Merlin said teasingly looking up at Arthur.

The expression on the prince's face made Merlin catch his breath as he realised what he had just said. He felt his cheeks colour as Arthur's gaze bore into his. Merlin felt something twinge inside of him and wasn't sure whether that was his feeling or Arthur's, but somehow he didn't really care. He kept his gaze on Arthur, feeling something flash between them, a feeling stronger than he'd felt before. He found his eyes being drawn to Arthur slightly parted lips and felt his breath hitch again at the sight.

Something inside Arthur's mind seemed to be close to breaking and Merlin had the feeling that he wouldn't mind Arthur letting out whatever he was hiding. However before Merlin could find out what it was Arthur tore his gaze from Merlin's and clamped down on his thoughts. Merlin threw up a simple block as he felt his breathing increase. He pushed aside the thoughts that had been racing behind his remaining block, threatening to break free. Satisfied that he had his mind under control again Merlin released the haphazard block he had just placed. It was silly for him to be thinking like that...

_...It's not like the feeling's reciprocated. _

Arthur heard this last part as Merlin released the block and felt pain flash over him again. Of course Merlin didn't feel that; it was crazy for him to think otherwise.

They continued on through the forest in silence, both boys lost in thought. The trees started to thin around them and they realised they must be getting close to where they left their horses. What puzzled Merlin most though, was that he was sure he could hear hushed voices. He glanced at Arthur who didn't seem concerned by any voices and was convinced he was going slowly insane until Arthur threw his arm out, causing Merlin to come to a halt as he crashed into it.

_Can't you be quiet for once in your life Merlin?_

Arthur crept forward to the edge of the trees and peered out curiously at the group of people gathered on the path. Merlin moved to join him and realised that the voices were coming from the group of knights stood on the road. What bugged him most was what he saw in Arthur's mind as he realised this.

_You knew it was the knights talking didn't you?_

_Of course._

_Well why didn't you say anything? I was really worried._

_Because it was more fun listening to you argue with yourself about whether you were hearing things and going insane or not._

Merlin pulled a face at Arthur and turned back to the knights. Snatches of the knights' conversation floated to them on the breeze.

"...We just left him..."

"...Can't go home...King will have us killed..."

"...I'm not going back in there with that thing..."

"...He's our prince...It's our duty..."

Arthur ground his teeth as he heard them bicker between them. For all they knew he could be dying somewhere in the forest and they were squabbling like old women.

_But you're not dying. _Merlin pointed out, confused as to why Arthur was so annoyed.

_But they don't know that. They're the knights of Camelot, their first duty is to protect the royal family and they all just ran away like scared children._

And suddenly Merlin understood why Arthur was so annoyed. He had trained these men to be fearless and to honour the knight's code that he lived his life by but the sight of one spider had driven all those lessons away. It was frustration that the men he had trained seemed to have forgotten everything he had taught them.

_It's not your fault Arthur. You're a good teacher; you even managed to teach me of all people to use a sword._

_Not that anyone would know, you're so hopeless with it. _Arthur muttered dejectedly.

Merlin could see Arthur was upset and cast around for some way to cheer him up. Arthur saw a mischievous smile spread slowly across Merlin's face and knew he had come up with a plan.

_Do you want to have some fun...?_

-

Merlin staggered out of the trees in to the road. The group of knights turned round at the noise and spotted him lurching forward precariously, a shield cradled in his arms. Their worst fears confirmed a sombre silence fell in the clearing as the knights struggled to hold back the emotion that was overwhelming them.

None of them noticed that Merlin was fighting to hold back the laugh that was threatening to burst out of him. He took a deep breath and concentrated on his role.

_Don't mess this up Merlin._

Merlin rolled his eyes at the little faith Arthur seemed to have in him. He moved forward a couple more paces before sinking to the ground with a sob, cradling Kay's shield in his arms. Of course none of the knights knew that this wasn't Arthur's shield. They knew how attached the boy was to his master and presumed his grief was for him. This was exactly what Merlin wanted and he let out another, louder, sob before speaking.

"He's gone. He's gone and it's all my fault." He sobbed quietly, head bowed to hide the lack of tears.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Sir Leon standing above him.

"It's not your fault Merlin. We left him, we're to blame."

The look of utter defeat on Leon's face made Merlin want to blurt the truth out but he clamped down on that thought, concentrating on the plan. He looked at Leon sadly and then paused as if he had just remembered something really important.

"Wait I remember now, something Gaius said." Merlin said quickly, climbing to his feet, "He said that anyone killed by a Neith was not completely dead."

The looks of shock and fear on the knights' faces caused another wave of hysteria to build inside Merlin and he had to pause again to stop the laughter escaping.

"It is said that the soul of the victim remains near the place where the body was destroyed, waiting to seek revenge on all that did them harm, extracting horrible punishments on those who caused them hurt."

The knights were all looking fearful now. Surveying their surrounding as if they expected Arthur's spirit to appear and take its revenge. And, right on cue, Arthur appeared from the trees behind Merlin, walking slowly towards the knights. Merlin had to look away from the prince, knowing he wouldn't be able to hold his giggles in any longer if he did.

The knights spotted Arthur, or what they thought was the spirit of Arthur, and the colour drained out of many of their faces. Arthur stopped a couple of paces away from Merlin and began to speak.

"Knights of Camelot,"

Arthur paused dramatically causing a snort of laughter to escape Merlin. Fortunately all the knights were so focused on Arthur that they didn't notice. Arthur's booming voice echoed around the dark forest and he spoke again, raising his voice as if he was talking to a large crowd rather than a small group of knights.

"You have betrayed me. You left me to die and for that you must be punished."

Merlin found he could no longer contain himself and he burst out laughing. Most of the knights turned to look at him, confusion tingeing their fearful faces. Arthur turned to glare at him, dropping his pretence.

"Honestly Merlin you could even last five minutes."

Merlin choked back his laughter as he turned to face Arthur whose glare just made Merlin laugh more. Swallowing his laughter Merlin finally found himself able to speak.

"Sorry but if that was you trying to sound menacing and ghostlike you failed miserably."

"I'll have you know I am very menacing." Arthur protested fiercely, causing Merlin to start laughing again.

"Whatever you say _Sire_."

Arthur rolled his eyes at his manservant and turned to his knights angrily. He saw Merlin out of the corner of his eyes move over to make sure their horses were ready to go.

"You are a disgrace. You have brought shame upon Camelot. There will be repercussions for your actions mark my words."

The knights were all staring at Arthur confused. None of them quite understood what was going on. They were staring from Arthur to Merlin, trying to understand what was going on.

"Sire?" Leon asked slowly, "Is it really you?"

"Of course it's me. You don't really think there are ghost haunting the forest." Arthur snapped, still angry at their betrayal.

He strode over to his horse, mounting swiftly and glared at Merlin who was taking longer to mount his own horse. Ignoring the baffled knights Arthur spurred his horse forward, setting off towards Camelot.

_Come on Merlin, we have a sorceress to find._


	14. Chapter 14

_**Finaly it's here, the revalation of the sorceress. I have to congratulate every one who guessed right, well the ones that told me their guess anyway. I'd really like to know whether people were right because I thought it was a little obvious, but then I did know who it was from the start. Thanks to all my amazing reviewers and to Roses-as-lips for the beta, you guys rock. x**_

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Previously

"You are a disgrace. You have brought shame upon Camelot. There will be repercussions for your actions."

He strode over to his horse, mounting swiftly and glared at Merlin who was taking longer to mount his own horse. Ignoring the baffled knights Arthur spurred his horse forward, setting off towards Camelot.

_Come on Merlin, we have a sorceress to find._

* * *

They cantered through the forest heading towards Camelot. Merlin had let enough slip for Arthur to know that the sorceress was in the town but he still didn't know who it was. It puzzled him that the sorceress was in Camelot. He never understood why sorcerers seemed to come to Camelot even though magic was banned on pain of death.

_Well they're normally there to kill you and Uther and destroy Camelot leaving me, once again, to have to save you all._

Arthur smiled slightly as he remembered the many memories he'd seen of Merlin saving them and once again marvelled on how he'd missed it before. He heard Merlin laugh in his mind and pulled a face at the other boy's cheek.

_Merlin?_

Arthur heard Merlin grunt in reply and hesitated, unsure whether what he wanted to ask was really any of his business.

_That's never stopped you asking before. _Merlin pointed out.

_Why did you come to Camelot? _Arthur asked quickly, unsure why he was suddenly so interested.

Merlin sighed, knowing they were probably going to have this conversation eventually. He wasn't really sure himself how he'd ended up in Camelot. It was more an accumulation of lots of reasons rather than one in particular

_Well mother thought I'd be safer here than in Ealdor. And she was really mad when she found out Will knew about my magic, I wasn't supposed to tell anyone. And then I used my magic to save Mrs Parson's youngest daughter from drowning in front of half the village. So by the end of the day everyone knew. And like I said before, they started shunning me and mother once they knew. So she thought I'd be able to keep my head down and just blend in if I went to Camelot._

_That didn't really turn out well did it? _Arthur replied with a smile.

_No. I don't think me becoming the prince's manservant was part of her plan. _Merlin replied, his smile matching Arthur's.

_But why Camelot? _Arthur asked, still not quite understanding, _I mean father is known for being the most ruthless ruler when it comes to magic. Surely coming to the centre of his rule is just asking to be caught._

_Well her uncle, Gaius, was there and I think she thought he might be able to keep an eye on me and stop me getting into trouble._

_He failed at that didn't he?_

Merlin pulled a face at Arthur and urged his horse on faster, moving ahead of Arthur. They had reached Camelot by this point and as they entered the town many of the people turned to look at them in awe. It had been common knowledge that they had gone to fight a fearsome creature and the fact that they had returned without the knights made it look as though they were the soul survivors of the terrible beast.

Arthur rolled his eyes as he could once again feel excitement pouring from Merlin. He wasn't really sure why Merlin was so excited about finding the sorceress but he had a feeling that it was more that he was enjoying knowing something Arthur didn't and was having fun teasing him.

_You're more excitable than a small child Merlin. _Arthur commented as they entered the castle courtyard.

Merlin pulled a face at Arthur as he dismounted, drawing a chuckle from the prince. Merlin handed the reins of his horse over to the waiting stable hand and set off at a run towards the castle. Arthur frowned as he watched the boy bound up the steps and into the castle.

_Where are you going? _He asked puzzled.

_To find the sorceress. _Came the reply.

Dismounting Arthur's frown deepened. There couldn't really be a sorceress inside the castle, could there? He handed his reins to the boy waiting patiently next to him and started to make his way over to the castle steps. He took them two at a time; ignoring the looks the people were giving his and Merlin's frantic rush into the castle.

He entered the castle and followed the path he knew Merlin had taken. He passed door after door and realised that Merlin was now running up the servant stairs towards the nobles sleeping quarters.

_You can't be serious Merlin? There are no sorcerers up here._

_Really? You're sure of that?_ Merlin asked teasingly.

_Yes I am. _Arthur replied tersely, annoyed by what Merlin was implying.

_And I'm sure if anyone had asked you if I was a sorcerer this morning you'd have been __**sure **__that I wasn't._

Merlin's comment made Arthur stop dead in his tracks. He hadn't realised it until Merlin had said it but he now realised, if someone as bumbling and useless as Merlin could be a sorcerer and keep it hidden, then anyone could be one.

Merlin rolled his eyes at Arthur and continued down the corridor. He passed Arthur's chambers and slowed as he neared his destination. Arthur saw this and picked his own pace up, anxious to catch Merlin up.

_Merlin stay there. The sorceress could be dangerous._

Merlin scoffed at the prince's ridiculous comment.

_Yeah she's __**so**__ dangerous. _Merlin chuckled, _Anyway even if she was I think I'm probably better equipped to deal with her than you. Brute force isn't always the best course of action Arthur._

Infuriated by Merlin's words Arthur almost didn't realise that he had reached Merlin and only just managed to prevent himself from crashing into Merlin again.

"We seem to be making a habit of this." Merlin said with a smile, speaking aloud for the first time since they had reached Camelot, "Well we're here."

Arthur looked up and down the corridor for the first time, trying to get his bearings. He had been so intent on catching Merlin up that he had stopped paying attention to where he was going. Now he did he realised that this corridor was very familiar. Looking to his left he could see the door to his own chambers further down the corridor.

He glanced back at the door they were stood in front of, his mind working in overtime to try and figure out whose room it was. Merlin giggled as Arthur's tired brain tried to figure it out. He smiled as Arthur seemed to be working it out and knocked smartly on the door. Without waiting for a reply Merlin pushed the door open and stepped into the room. Arthur hesitated in the corridor for a moment before following Merlin in.

Once he entered the room and took in his surroundings something clicked in his mind. If he hadn't been sure whose chambers they were about to enter he was positive he knew now. He was surprised he hadn't worked it out before but he put it down to the strain the battle in the forest had taken on him. He glanced at Merlin and saw the triumphant look on his face. Arthur knew that they had found the women they had spent the best part of the last month looking for. Though he was confused as to why she would be in here of all rooms.

He felt rather than saw Merlin roll his eyes and cast his gaze round the room. His eyes landed on a slight figure in the corner and he had to restrain himself from staggering backwards in shock. This couldn't really be the sorceress; Merlin had to be playing some sort of joke on him.

"Guinevere?" He asked incredulous.

Merlin frowned as Arthur spoke and turned to see that the prince had been looking in the opposite direction to him. He followed Arthur's gaze and saw Gwen stood by the vanity. He had missed her when they entered the room having been focused on the figure by the window. He felt a rush of bitterness run through him; of course Gwen would be the first person Arthur noticed. Gwen had turned to face the two of them at Arthur's words and was now looking between the two, utterly confused. Arthur was staring at her in shock and Merlin was looking slightly disgruntled. She wasn't sure what had caused the two of them to burst into the room so dramatically and was even more unsure as to what was going through their minds.

"Gwen could you give us a moment." Merlin said, his usual smile back in place, gesturing towards the woman by the window.

Gwen nodded and left the room, throwing them one last puzzled look as she did. Arthur, who was thoroughly confused now, turned back to Merlin.

_So it's not Guinevere?_

_No you idiot. Do you really think Gwen could be a sorceress?_

_I didn't think __**you**__ could be a sorcerer, but I have been wrong before._

_Did you just admit you were wrong? Wow that must be a first._

_Could you two stop bickering, you're giving me a headache._

Both Merlin and Arthur froze as a third voice joined their silent conversation. Merlin was shocked as he didn't think it was possible for her to join their link even though he did remember the dragon saying that she had unwittingly linked herself to them when she'd formed the bond.

Arthur's shock however was for a very different reason. He recognised the voice that had just spoken in his mind. He now realised it was the same voice who had joined his and Merlin's whilst they were fighting the Neith. He had known that voice for a very long time and he was surprised that he hadn't recognised it before. He turned slowly towards the window and saw the familiar woman scowling at them.

"Morgana?"

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So? Were you right? Please review! x


	15. Chapter 15

_**200 reviews!!! I officially love you guys!!! Thank you so much!!! Anyway I would apologise for delays and promise to have the next one up quicker but that never works. Congrats to everyone who guessed the identity of the sorceress right, which seemed to be most of you. We're nearing the end, only a couple more chapters to go :(. Also I realised that I never cleared the slash issue up after asking you guys about it in a previous chapter. So as opinions seem to be pretty spilt I am thinking about doing slash and non slash alternative endings so you can read whichever. They will be pretty much the same other than that though. What do you think? I'm not bothered either way, I have ideas for both, so I thought I'd just write them both and let you guys pick. I'm going to stop rambling now and let you get on with the chapter. Enjoy. x**_

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Previously

_Could you two stop bickering, you're giving me a headache._

Both Merlin and Arthur froze as a third voice joined their silent conversation. Merlin was shocked as he didn't think it was possible for her to join their link even though he did remembered the dragon saying that she had linked herself to them when she'd formed the bond.

Arthur's shock however was for a very different reason. He recognised the voice that her just spoken in his mind. He now realised it was the same voice who had joined his and Merlin's whilst they were fighting the Neith. He had known that voice for a very long time and he was surprised he hadn't recognised it before. He turned slowly towards the window and saw the familiar woman scowling at him.

"Morgana?"

* * *

Arthur was in shock. He stood staring at Morgana, his jaw slack, and didn't seem to be able to function. Merlin peered at him worriedly, unsure what he was going to do. Morgana however just rolled her eyes and returned to gazing out of the window while she waited for Arthur to recover.

After a few moments of silence Merlin's patience was failing him. He knew that they should probably wait for Arthur to recover before they dealt with it but his curiosity got the better of him. Ignoring the still frozen Arthur he turned to Morgana.

"I didn't know you could communicate through the bond as well." He commented.

"Neither did I." Morgana said turning back to face them, "I heard your thoughts when I bumped into you in the town a couple of weeks ago but they disappeared when I moved further away from you. And then just now I heard you arguing outside the door and then when you started bickering again I thought how much it was giving me a headache and apparently you heard me."

Merlin pondered this. He was quite relieved that Morgana hadn't been able to hear all their thoughts as that could have been awkward. However he wondered how they hadn't realised it was Morgana that day they had gone out looking for the sorceress. They had gotten sidetracked however and had been wrapped up in their thoughts, and, well they hardly expected it to be Morgana they were looking for.

"So that's why you were so jumpy that day." Merlin realised.

Morgana was about to reply when Arthur let out a low growl. Both sorcerers turned to look at the prince who was glaring at Morgana with a mixture of anger and shock. They waited, expecting him to speak, however he just continued to stare at them.

_Arthur? _Merlin asked hesitantly, _Are you okay?_

"Of course I'm not okay!" He yelled, suddenly finding use of his voice. He turned to Morgana angrily, "You're a sorceress? How could you? After everything we've seen magic destroy!"

"You mean everything we've seen Uther destroy? The countless lives he has taken from the innocent people who have never tried to harm anyone." Morgana fumed, her quick temper getting the better of her, "And don't you dare make this my fault Arthur Pendragon! I never asked for this! Do you really think that I wanted to spend my life worrying about whether Uther is going to find out about my magic and have me killed?"

"Magic is evil Morgana, it corrupts those who posses it. It has to be stopped before it destroys the kingdom."

"Don't feed me your father's bullshit Arthur! I know you don't believe that so don't even pretend."

"You don't know anything about me sorceress. Don't tell me what I believe!"

"Yes I do Arthur. For starters I have known you for most of your life. Also I can now read your thoughts. And if that wasn't enough I know you don't believe that because if you did there is no way Merlin would still be alive."

"Well it's one thing to find out my manservant, who I've only known a couple of years, has magic and another to find out that my foster sister, who I've known as long as I can remember, does! Why didn't you tell me?"

"What and have you go running to _daddy_? This is new to me too; I didn't know I had magic until recently!"

"How can you not know you have magic?!"

Merlin watched the two members of the royal family screaming at each other worriedly. He had seen them fight before, a lot, but it had never been like this. There had been a family bond between them even when they were at their most hostile, but now there didn't seem to be any sort of connection between them even though they were now closer than ever due to the bond. Merlin could feel their anger and hostility pouring through the bond into him and it was making him feel angry at the pair of them for their childish bickering, neither of them had had to cope with magic long before they could even talk. They had lived in luxury their whole lives while he had been working in the fields as soon as he was able, what did they have to complain about? He had to physically restrain himself from joining in the argument.

And then it hit him, he understood why they were suddenly much more hostile than normal. Instead of just feeling their own anger, they were also feeling the other person's through the link. He frowned realising that this could make things complicated as it would make it harder for them to calm down. He was about to intervene but something stopped him. He turned to Morgana and felt her untrained magic bubbling just below the surface, threatening to break free. He knew that Morgana was always very free with her emotions and hadn't yet learned how to control her magic properly. He supposed that was partly his fault as he could have told her about his magic and helped her. Though he realised that she must now know about his magic and he doubted she was going to be pleased that he hadn't told her.

While he had been pondering this Morgana had been getting more and more infuriated with Arthur. Their argument was jumping around, often returning to the same point several times. Neither of them realised that their feelings were being amplified by the others. Merlin felt something inside Morgana snap and his instincts took over. He pushed Arthur out of the way as the vase on the table next to the prince exploded.

Arthur fell to the floor and quickly looked up to see Merlin staring at the vase, his eyes blazing gold. He felt his breath hitch as he saw the power inside of his friend. His golden eyes transfixed Arthur and he saw the beauty of magic for the first time in his life. Merlin was holding the shards of vase still, preventing them from flying across the room and hitting the three of them.

"**Gebétung**."

The vase started to repair itself at Merlin's words and, after a moment, Merlin's eyes returned to their normal colour and the vase was as good as new. He threw a quick glance at Arthur to make sure he was okay and then turned to Morgana. She was staring with wide eyes at the vase.

"Morgana?" Merlin asked tentatively.

She shifted her gaze to look at him and he could feel her emotions flashing through her, threatening to burst out. He could feel the anger at Uther, the hate of her confined life, the confusion of her magic. He heard a gasp behind him and knew Arthur could feel it too. He saw her eyes turn gold and a different vase on the other side of the room smashed.

_Morgana! _He cried, _Morgana you need to calm down._

The sound of his voice in her mind brought her back to her senses. She blinked, trying to clear her head of the anger that had been so ready to spring to the surface recently.

"I'm fine." She muttered, more trying to reassure herself than Merlin.

She sat down on her window seat, taking deep, calming, breaths. Arthur had picked himself off the ground and was surveying Morgana warily. He slumped into a nearby chair, his head spinning with the new information. Merlin stood awkwardly between the two, unsure whether they were going to start shouting at each other again.

"So." Arthur eventually broke the silence, "You're a sorceress."

"Yes." Morgana whispered softly.

Arthur glanced between her and Merlin. His mind was spinning. He had always been in control and sure of everything. Now he felt as if his whole world view was disintegrating. First Merlin and now Morgana, how could he have not noticed any of this? He remembered the strange events when Morgana's window had mysteriously broken and they had never managed to find an explanation. If it was her magic that had caused it then things made much more sense.

He glanced at where Morgana was sat and remembered the flash of gold in her eyes. He could feel the power in both her and Merlin and was feeling inexplicably left out. He had spent his life being at the top. As the crown prince he was the most powerful person in Camelot bar his father. However his power was based on the authority he had over the people. He knew that Merlin or Morgana's power was much more substantial than his despite Merlin's lower rank. He felt the mass of power inside his friend and knew that if he felt the urge to take over Camelot then he and his father would be powerless to stop him, and this thought scared him more than anything.

_I'm not going to take over Camelot, what would be the point of that? _Merlin's slightly confused thought cut through Arthur's musing and he suddenly remembered that his thoughts weren't private.

_Because then you would rule the whole of Camelot and you could do what you want._

_It's your destiny to rule Camelot, not mine._

Arthur frowned at Merlin's words but filed it away as something to discuss later. Now he had Morgana to deal with. He pushed away his fears and confronted her.

"How long have you known?" He asked her.

"A couple of months." She replied wearily.

"A couple of months?" Arthur asked incredulous, his anger starting to reappear, "And you didn't feel like doing the courtesy of telling your brother?"

"What so you could go tell Uther and watch me burn? How stupid do you think I am Arthur?"

Morgana felt anger rebuild inside her. She glared fiercely at the blond boy in front of her. She had known Arthur for as long as she could remember and she had always looked up to him, admired him, even harboured a secret crush on him, though she would never tell him any of these things. But now, as she felt the power bubbling inside her, she could see how insignificant he really was. His power was nothing compared to the raw energy flowing through her veins, she could strike him and Uther and anyone who displeased her down without a seconds thought and no one would stop her. He was nothing, just another inferior man.

"We've been through this before." Merlin sighed at their resumed bickering, "Can we move past it and have a grown up conversation?"

He smiled cheekily at the dirty look Arthur threw him. However the smile faltered as he turned to Morgana. Whereas Arthur's thoughts were constantly part of his consciousness he had to concentrate to see Morgana's. However now he did he saw the thoughts flashing through her mind. The frustration and anger at everything Arthur stood for and that she'd realised she had a much more substantial source of power than the prince. He bit his lip in worry as he saw the plans that were flitting through her mind.

"You're wrong." He whispered.

She looked up at him confused, not having noticed he was listening to her thoughts.

_I would stop you. _Merlin said for her mind only.

Suddenly Morgana realised what she had been debating doing. Was she really going to destroy Uther and take control herself? She tried to deny it to herself but a small voice in the back of her mind betrayed her. Yes she was, just because she couldn't control her emotions. She took a deep breath and calmed her raging fury, pushing Arthur's anger out as well. This was what had gotten her into trouble before. What had made her trust Alvarr without a question of his true motives and steal the crystal for him. She had been too easily influenced by the presence of Mordred and despair at her position.

She knew she had a tendency to act without thinking and she had had thoughts of overthrowing Uther before but it had always been to put Arthur on the throne, not her, and she had never had the means to do it before. Well there was her attempt to have Uther assassinated but it had been so badly planned that she had wondered whether her heart was really in it. But in the heat of the moment something had happened inside of her and she had seen herself and Merlin pulsing with energy, and Arthur had seemed so empty compared to them. But maybe this was the way things should be. She knew power could corrupt people; she was proof of that, so maybe that's why Arthur would make a better King without magic, for she knew he was going to be a great king.

She sunk her head into hands in despair, angry at herself for losing control once again. She didn't have the training or control yet to master her magic. She had been alone and scared with it for so long. She looked up and her eyes met Merlin's, and she knew she was alone no longer. She felt a slight resentment that he had known about her magic all along and had failed to tell her about his, but it felt detached from her weary mind.

"Help me." She whispered the two words she hated most in the world.

_You and Arthur do have things in common, _Merlin said trying to lighten her mood, _He hates to ask for help as well._

She smiled slightly as she heard Arthur's outraged protest.

_I will help you, you don't have to deal with this alone anymore. I'm sorry._

Those two words from Merlin awoke both nobles to sense. The sincerity in Merlin's words made Arthur sit up taller and take control. He still wasn't sure he was completely okay with Morgana's secret but he could see how fragile she was at the moment and he thought that that discussion was probably best left for another time when they weren't just going to end up screaming at each other. Because he saw something in Morgana that Merlin had missed; she was still the girl he had grown up with but he could see her potential to change. It wasn't that she was evil, far from it, but she was easily influenced and Arthur could see the potential for her to be led astray along the wrong path, a path that would just lead to despair and destruction for them all. He resolved that he wasn't going to let this happen to her, he still felt very protective of her, not matter what secrets she was hiding.

_So it seems you are the reason we're stuck like this. _Arthur thought to her.

_Yes. _Morgana replied slowly.

Arthur had known her long enough to tell that she was hiding something even without the link, but he decided that prying wasn't the best option. If it had been Merlin he would have bullied and pried it out of him, but he trusted Morgana to tell them eventually. He saw the irony that he trusted her after all he had discovered but he couldn't help it. They had been through so much together; he couldn't just throw that away.

_Thank you._

_What for? _He asked confused.

_For still trusting and believing in me. _She replied with a smile.

Arthur squirmed at how emotional this moment was getting and decided that if he didn't want to start getting all girly he'd better change the subject.

"So, can you get rid of it?"

Arthur felt his heart sink as he saw her bite her lip worriedly.

"Morgana." He said warningly.

She sighed, bracing herself for their reaction.

"I don't know how."

**

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Oh dear that's not good for our trio. Thanks to Roses-as-lips for the beta and JuubiOokami for some of the ideas in this chapter. Please review :)


	16. Chapter 16

_**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed or even just read this far. This chapter should answer some of your questions, hopefully. We're nearing the end and the next chapter will probably be either the last or penultimate chapter, it depends how carried away I get, so if there is anything vital you think I have missed please feel free to tell me. As always thanks to Roses-as-lips for the beta. I'd love to know what everyone thinks. Enjoy. x**_

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Previously

"So, can you get rid of it?"

Arthur felt his heart sink as he saw her bite her lip worriedly.

"Morgana." He said warningly.

She sighed, bracing herself for their reaction.

"I don't know how."

* * *

Arthur gaped at her in shock. She couldn't have just said what he thought she had. However the disbelieving snort he heard from Merlin through their bond told him she had.

"What do you mean you don't know how?" He asked slowly, trying to keep his temper in check this time.

Morgana watched her foster brother warily. She still wasn't sure whether he had completely accepted the fact that she was a sorceress and what she had yet to tell him wasn't going to make him think much better of it. She glanced at Merlin, who smiled at her reassuringly, and then back at Arthur. She tried to probe his mind to find out what he was really thinking but she was finding it harder to access his thoughts than Merlin's, who were plain in her mind.

_He's good at blocking people out. _Merlin said to her and she saw a smug smile cross Arthur's face, _It's not fair I'm the one with magic and he's better at it than me._

Morgana smiled at Merlin's childish grumbles, he always knew how to cheer her up.

_It's funny that the one person in all this without magic is the best at controlling it. _She thought to herself, except that her thoughts were no longer private.

_Well that just goes to show that magic isn't everything. It proves that I'm just stronger and better than you two. _Arthur's arrogant voice cut threw her musings and she threw him a dirty look, _Now you'd better explain all this._

_Or what? _She asked, eyebrows raised.

"God the two of you are like a pair of stubborn children." Merlin muttered with a sigh.

He sank down onto Morgana's bed as the two nobles turned their glares on him.

"Don't look at me like that you are!" He protested.

"She started it." Arthur grumbled.

_No I didn't you did!_

"See what I mean? Children."

"Merlin would you like a visit to the stocks?" Arthur asked sweetly.

He smiled triumphantly as Merlin's smile slipped and he paled slightly. Arthur knew how much Merlin disliked the stocks; although he would have thought the other boy would be used to them by now, the amount of time he spent in them. Merlin pulled a face at him and then smiled wickedly. Arthur narrowed his eyes at Merlin, unsure what he was looking so pleased about.

_Arthur would you like me to leave a spider in your bed? _Merlin replied, mimicking Arthur's falsely sweet tone.

Arthur paled at the thought. He heard Morgana snicker next to him and felt his heart sink, there was no way he was going to live this down.

"Stop trying to change the subject." He snapped, "What do you mean you don't know how Morgana?"

She looked at him fearfully, unsure of the best way to tell him. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Well the thing is I don't actually know how I linked the two of you together in the first place so I don't really know where to begin trying to undo it." She said in a rush.

Silence followed her words and she peaked at the two boys. Arthur was looking at her stunned. He couldn't believe that he'd had to deal with almost a month of shielding his thoughts and having to listen to Merlin's because of Morgana's 'accident' and she didn't even know how to fix it. Merlin on the other hand didn't look surprised at her announcement. He hadn't thought that it was purposeful, the magic had seemed too chaotic and instinctual to be planned.

"What do you mean it didn't feel like it had been planned?" Arthur asked, rounding on Merlin, "Why didn't you tell me this before."

"Yeah that would have been a great conversation." Merlin replied sarcastically, "'Arthur I don't think that the sorceress meant to put a spell on us because it doesn't feel organised.' I'm sure that would have gone down really well."

Arthur tried to say that he would have at least listened to Merlin but Merlin cut him off before he could express the thought out loud.

"No you wouldn't have. You'd have called me an idiot and pointed out that I know nothing of magic, even though you'd have been wrong. Anyway what use would it have been? I couldn't check if I was right or do anything about it because the stupid dragon had blocked my magic."

Arthur had to admit that Merlin was probably right. He had never listened to his manservant's views on magic as he had reasoned that Merlin of all people would be the least likely person to be involved in magic, how wrong he had been. There was another thing bothering him, something he had been too preoccupied with the revelation that his manservant was a sorcerer to think about at the time.

Morgana was still processing what Merlin had said. He couldn't really have meant what he had said, there must be some mistake. There was no way she wouldn't know about something like this.

"Dragon? What dragon?" She asked, utterly confused.

"The last dragon is under Camelot. Uther trapped him there." Merlin said airily, "I go talk to him sometimes when I need his help. It's a long story; I'll fill you in later."

Morgana gaped at him, her mouth open and closing wordlessly. Arthur chuckled slightly before turning to Merlin.

"You know you never told me how you managed to get your magic free from the dragon's block. Surely your magic can't be stronger than a dragon's?" Arthur said apprehensively as, for all he knew, Merlin could be stronger than the dragon.

Merlin smiled at Arthur's hesitation before answering.

"It's not, don't worry I'm not that powerful." He replied.

_Yet. _Morgana thought for Merlin's ears only.

For she could see the power inside her friend much clearer than Arthur, or even Merlin himself, could and she could see the potential he had. Merlin continued talking to Arthur as though she hadn't spoken.

"I couldn't get past his block on my own, especially not having access to my magic..."

"That's why you got so freaked out when we were attacked in the lower town. You were trying to use your magic and it didn't work." Arthur interrupted, that afternoon finally making sense to him.

"Yes." Merlin said, rolling his eyes, "You know it would be nice if one of us could finish talking without getting interrupted or sidetracked."

Morgana and Arthur looked suitably sheepish so he decided to continue.

"So I couldn't get past the block on my own but when we were facing the Neith..." Merlin broke off looking suddenly guilty. Arthur narrowed his eyes at him suspiciously and Merlin continued, "Well the link sort of strengthened and then your energy was flowing through it and then Morgana's magic added to my power and between the three of us we had enough energy to break the dragon's block."

Arthur sighed. He didn't like the fact that it had been so easy for Merlin to steal his energy...

_Borrow. _Merlin protested, _I only borrowed it._

_Borrowed, stole, same difference. _Arthur replied airily.

...however he had to admit that without it they would probably both be dead.

The three of them sat in silence for a moment, unsure where they were supposed to go next. Merlin could see Arthur's frustration and knew that their confusion must be extra annoying for him as he liked to be in control of everything. He decided that it was probably up to him to try and solve this as he had the most magical knowledge, and he was used to fixing everyone's problems anyway.

_Hey you don't fix everyone's problems. _Arthur protested, _You __**are **__my problem._

Merlin pointedly ignored him and turned to Morgana.

"Right I need you to tell us everything about the day this happened." He waved his hand around near his head indicating he meant their link. Arthur snorted but chose not to comment, "Start at the beginning and don't leave anything out."

Morgana sighed and moved to sit in the chair next to the one Arthur was in. She settled her skirts around her, delaying as she gathered her thoughts. She looked between the boys' expectant faces and began.

"Well I was coming back from a meeting with Uther and I was feeling angry that he was always such a hypocrite. I passed your room Arthur and I heard raised voices so I stopped to listen. I realised that the two of you were shouting at each other, arguing over something. I thought about how neither of you were seeing the other's point of view and how you needed to understand each other and see what you were missing caught up in your own lives. And then I felt this tug inside me and I knew that my magic had done something; I'm not good at controlling it when my temper flares. I didn't know what had happened so I ran back to my chambers, I didn't want to be caught doing magic."

Arthur and Merlin exchanged a look. It was clear that Morgana hadn't intended anything to happen but after her argument with Uther her emotions had been running high and she had just lost control. Merlin chewed his lip as he thought over her words.

"Well when I spoke to the dragon he said that the sorceress, that's you, wouldn't have cast the spell without reason and we would have to discover the reason before we could undo it. And Gaius said that he'd never heard of such a spell but he was inclined to believe the dragon." Merlin pondered aloud, "So the reason was that you thought we needed to understand each other and see the other's point of view..."

"Hang on a minute." Arthur interrupted, "Did you tell Gaius and this dragon? I told you not to tell anyone!"

"Well when have I ever listened to you?" Merlin pointed out, though he did feel a little guilty, "You also told me to clean out the stables and tidy your room and I haven't done either of them."

Merlin realised, too late, that this probably wasn't the best argument to make in his defence. However he decided it was better to leave Arthur to stew and continue to try and break the spell.

"Well I think I understand you way more than I want to." Merlin said casually, "So unless there is something pressing you haven't told me I think we've got that bit done."

Arthur grunted in agreement however Morgana frowned at his words. She could tell that there were things they still hadn't told each other. Merlin was definitely still hiding something and she was willing to bet her new dress it was the reason why he had been looking so worn recently and was clearly not sleeping. However she could see in his mind that he would just deny it or lie if she confronted the issue and so she let it drop.

"So I think we should try and see if we can undo this."

Merlin jumped off the bed and plonked himself down on the floor. The nobles exchanged a look before joining him. They sat so they were at the three points of a triangle and then looked at Merlin expectantly.

"Well?" Arthur asked, "What now?"

"Now." Merlin repeated casting round for an idea. He was just making it up as he went along and Arthur rolled his eyes as he heard this, "Now we need to hold hands."

Reluctantly they followed his orders and joined hands. The moment they were all connected magic shot through the bond via each of them. They all shivered as the raw energy passed through them. Merlin shut his eyes and the others followed suit.

_Right try and concentrate on the bond, think of it breaking and you being left with just your thoughts._

They all followed Merlin's instructions and each of them could feel the power building inside them. It was an alien feeling for Arthur but the other two found it strangely similar to the building of magic inside them before they cast a spell.

For a moment Merlin thought it was going to work and he felt the connection to Arthur and Morgana weaken. However just as he thought this it seemed to strengthen again. They continued trying this, all of them completely focused on the task. Merlin knew they were along the right path but something was stopping it from working.

Frustration was building inside them all and he could feel the other two's attention waning. Before he could say anything they were interrupted by a knock on the door. They all opened their eyes, suddenly brought back to reality. They released each others' hands as the door opened and Gwen entered. She looked momentarily stunned to see the three of them sitting on the floor looking tired. It had taken a lot out of them and they were feeling physically and mentally drained.

"Sorry I didn't mean to interrupt but your father is looking for you sire." She said, recovering her composure quickly. She still wasn't really sure what was going on but she knew better than to ask.

_It wasn't going to work anyway. _Merlin said as they got to their feet, _There's something missing._

The others silently agreed with him. However all of them had felt the energy build inside them and knew it had the potential to work. They could all feel the power still inside them, pressing on the bond. It had had nowhere to go, as the spell had failed, and so was left bubbling within of them.

_We'll try again later, get some rest. _Arthur said as he followed Gwen out the room.


	17. Chapter 17

_**So I said this was going to be the last or second last chapter but things seemed to have run away with me and so there is more to go that I originally thought. Thanks again to all my awesome reviews and everyone who had read this far. As always thanks goes to Roses-as-lips for her beta. Also I'd like to thank JuubiOokami, Neon Rose and Anon (who wasn't logged in so I could thank personally so thought I would say thanks for your great reviews) for some of the ideas in the next couple of chapters. :D Enjoy. x**_

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Previously

_It wasn't going to work anyway. _Merlin said as they got to their feet, _There's something missing._

The others silently agreed with him. However all of them had felt the energy build inside them and knew it had the potential to work. They could all feel the power still inside them, pressing on the bond. It had had nowhere to go, as the spell had failed, and so was left bubbling within of them.

_We'll try again later, get some rest. _Arthur said as he followed Gwen out the room.

* * *

Morgana sighed as Arthur and Gwen left, and flopped down onto her bed. Merlin, who looked as defeated as she felt, slumped into the chair Arthur had been sat in earlier. Morgana felt the strange feeling of Arthur's conscious slipping out of her mind as he moved further away. She could still hear Merlin's thoughts but Arthur had obviously moved too far away for their link to still be as strong. She knew that the link was still there as she was aware that Arthur was still present in her mind, she could just no longer hear his thoughts. Also Merlin's gloominess that it hadn't worked was still seeping from his mind into hers.

"Can you still hear him?" She asked the gloomy warlock.

"Yeah, the prat is still well and truly stuck in my head." Merlin muttered morosely.

_Good you were supposed to._

"What?" Morgana asked as she heard Merlin's strange thought.

"Sorry I was talking to Arthur."

"I don't know how you too have survived for so long like this without anyone noticing." She said and Merlin just shrugged, "When did life get so complicated?"

"When I came to Camelot and met Arthur." Merlin said with a smile, "I blame him."

Morgana laughed and watched Merlin screw his face up at what was obviously Arthur's reply.

_Well then I'll have to fill your room with spiders._

An evil smile spread across Morgana's face as she started planning the endless ways she was going to use this information to her benefit.

"So, how deep is this fear of Arthur's?" She asked innocently.

A wicked smile crept onto Merlin's face and Morgana waited eagerly. However the smile disappeared as Merlin gazed into space, obviously listening to Arthur.

"I can't tell you." Merlin muttered sadly.

She frowned annoyed.

"Since when have you ever listened to Arthur?" She asked, trying to bait the answer out of him.

"Since he started threatening to make me clean out every stable in Camelot without magic."

Morgana sighed, Arthur was so annoying sometimes. No matter, she'd find out her on her own, preferably with a spider in her foster brother's room.

"That sounds like a good plan." Merlin said, his mischievous smile back, "Just don't think that too loud around Arthur."

Morgana could see Arthur talking to Merlin through their link however even though she was in Merlin's head she could only hear his half of the conversation.

_Nothing Arthur. We're not hiding anything._

"Speaking of hiding things, what is it that you're hiding from Arthur?" Morgana asked, jumping straight to the point.

She knew that their attempt to break the spell would have worked if the two boys were being completely honest with each other. She was planning on interrogating Arthur later but she was sure that it was Merlin who was hiding the most. Sure enough she saw Merlin pale at the thought and felt his apprehension before he slammed his defences down. Annoyed Morgana tried to force her way past his block, but their link wasn't strong enough and she couldn't get past his barriers.

"I don't know what you're talking about Morgana, I'm not hiding anything." Merlin said shiftily, refusing to look at her.

"Merlin you are the worst liar in the world. I know that spell would have worked if you had both told each other everything." She said waving her arm around indicating their earlier attempt at breaking the bond, "Look you need to be straight with him if you really want to break this."

"Morgana you don't understand, I can't." Merlin said earnestly, "I don't know how to explain it but I just can't tell him."

Something flashed through Morgana's mind and she knew the picture hadn't come from her thoughts. It was a crystal. And not just any crystal, Morgana remembered this one well. It was the crystal she had stolen from the castle vault for Alvarr and Mordred. She closed her eyes as she remembered the mistake she had made. It had meant that the king had sent Arthur after them, costing many people lives. She wasn't even sure what had possessed her to follow their instructions. She just remembered being so pleased to see Mordred again and feeling that bond between them that meant she would do anything for him. She hadn't even been sure what they wanted the crystal for but she had gone along with it anyway, as always acting with her emotions rather than her brain.

_It wasn't your fault._

Morgana heard Merlin's thought and knew that this time it was directed at her not Arthur. It made her remember what had reminded her of that day and she wondered why Merlin would be worried about it.

_It was my fault. My fault those people died, my fault that everything went wrong and now it's my fault that we're stuck in this mess with no way out._

"Okay maybe it was your fault." Merlin said cheerily, which didn't make Morgana feel any better, "And maybe it is your fault that Arthur and I are stuck like this..."

"Which part of this is meant to make me feel better?" She asked icily.

"...but it's not your fault that we can't break it. You're right, that would have worked if we weren't hiding things from each other. But it's for his own good, and yours. I can't tell him everything, there are some things better left hidden."

A triumphant smile spread across Morgana's face and Merlin suddenly realised he had been tricked. He glared at Morgana, annoyed that he had fallen for her act.

"So you admit you're hiding things from Arthur." She said happily, _And it wasn't really an act, it is my fault._

Merlin looked like he was about to argue but Morgana cut him off. She leant forward, resting her elbows on her knees, and Merlin felt himself fill with foreboding.

"Merlin you may believe that you're protecting us by hiding things, but do you really want to be stuck like this forever. Eventually Arthur's going to find out; you're not going to be able to hide it from him for long when you're stuck like this. It is the only way you're going to be able to go back to having your mind all to yourself."

"Morgana please," Merlin practically begged, "I know all this already. But I'm not doing this for myself..."

"Yes I know, you said before; you're trying to protect me and Arthur. But Merlin I don't need your protection, I can take care of myself no matter what people think. And Arthur's a big boy, he can handle the truth. He doesn't need you to protect him all the time, maybe you should try trusting him instead."

Merlin scoffed, Morgana was unaware of all the times he had saved and protected Arthur. But her words echoed what a small voice inside his had been saying all along. Arthur had taken the news of his magic well, or as well as could be expected. Maybe Merlin didn't have to hide everything anymore. He was just so used to dealing with things himself that he forgot that maybe Arthur would be able to help. He sighed, why did Morgana have to be so rational?

Morgana laughed as she heard this thought. She had been monitoring his internal struggle, ready to jump in if it had seemed to be swinging the wrong way. But she was glad that Merlin was starting to see sense. He seemed to think that he could solve everyone's problems by himself and that it was his job to protect them all. She wondered if this was the reason that he had looked so burnt out recently, because she knew that was linked to what he was hiding, or if there was something further she had missed.

"Merlin I'm always right, you should know that by now."

Merlin smiled as he once again noted the similarity between her and Arthur. He ignored the prince's protests at this which echoed through his mind, and turned back to Morgana.

"Well Arthur doesn't give you enough credit."

"Tell me about it." She said with a smile, knowing that Arthur would hate hearing this.

She saw the smile on Merlin's face and knew that Arthur was probably shouting at him through their bond in protest. However the smile changed to a look of confusion which soon turned to exasperation and Morgana wonder what Arthur could be babbling on about now.

_It's called magic Arthur. Just be thankful you don't have to live with it._

Morgana shot Merlin a look of confusion. The warlock sighed and started to explain to her and Arthur.

_The spell we were trying to break the bond didn't work properly, however it did start to work before it hit a block. As a result the power that had mixed between the three of us is now left within us with nowhere to go. In Morgana and me it has just become part of our magic, ready to be used when the spell can finally be completed. However, because you don't have magic it is just stuck flowing through you until the spell works or it can find an outlet._

Morgana pondered this. What Merlin had said actually made sense, even if she suspected he'd just made half of it up. She could feel the remnants of the spell inside her, pressing on the link. But she knew it wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Her thoughts were cut off as she saw Merlin freeze. She frowned at the fearful expression that had just appeared on his face. She tried to look into his mind to see what was going on but he still had his blocks up from their earlier conversation.

"Merlin?" She prompted.

Her voice seemed to jolt him into action and he jumped up from the chair and ran from the room. She got snippets of what he was trying to tell her as he ran down the corridor, the thoughts incomplete in his agitated state.

_Got to go...no time...Arthur!_

---

_**Meanwhile**_

Arthur followed Gwen down the corridor lost in thought. She had tried to engage him in conversation a couple of times but he hadn't been focused enough to answer with anything more than a grunt or monosyllabic reply. He was thinking over his first experience of magic and trying to find out what went wrong. He knew he was hiding things from Merlin, he couldn't really be expected to reveal everything. He was a human being, of course he had secrets. But not even this stupid spell was going to persuade him to reveal them. Neither would Morgana, as Arthur knew she would corner him later even though he could no longer hear her thoughts.

His musings were interrupted as he heard Merlin in his mind insulting him. He knew the other boy was talking to Morgana but felt he should make his presence known, mainly just to annoy Merlin.

_You do know I'm still here? I heard that._

_Good you were supposed to. _Came the cheeky reply from Merlin.

Arthur rolled his eyes with a small snort that made Gwen frown at him confused. He realised that between his behaviour now, the scene she had just left and the strange conversation she'd had with him and Merlin the day before she must be pretty concerned about their sanity.

Once again his thoughts were interrupted as he heard Merlin mention his name again. He sighed in annoyance as he heard his manservant blame him. He decided that he'd better monitor what Merlin was saying more closely as the other boy would probably end up telling Morgana things that Arthur definitely didn't want his foster sister to know.

_This is not my fault Merlin. I'm going to have to put you in the stocks if you keep insulting me._

_Well then I'll have to fill your room with spiders. _Came the gleeful response.

Arthur silently fumed at his bad luck. Why on earth did Merlin have to discover this? He cursed Morgana and her 'accident' under his breath. That was until he saw that Merlin was about to tell her everything.

_Merlin! If you tell her I swear to god I will make you clean every stable in Camelot, not just the royal one, without magic! And I will know if you use it._

He smiled in satisfaction as he heard Merlin refuse to tell Morgana. However Merlin's next thought made Arthur's blood run cold.

_Don't think what too loud? Merlin what are you two hiding from me?_

_Nothing Arthur, we're not hiding anything._

Arthur regretted leaving the two of them together. Having both Merlin and Morgana plotting against him was more than he could handle. He was about to force Merlin to tell him what they were talking about when he realised that Gwen had stopped outside the throne room. He reluctantly dragged his mind away from Merlin's thoughts and focused on what he was supposed to be doing. Gwen had stepped back and he knew she was waiting for him to enter. He smiled at her in thanks, took a deep breath to prepare himself, and pushed open the doors.

He stepped into the room to see his father sat in his chair at the end of the long table, clearly waiting for Arthur. As he walked towards the king he spotted Leon stood to his left and realised why he had been summoned. Uther was waiting for his report as to what had happened in the clearing and his reassurance that the Neith was dead. Arthur presumed from Leon's presence that the rest of the knights were back. He was curious to know what Leon had told his father as he couldn't see his father being this calm if Leon had told him what really happened.

He reached his father and gave a small bow while his mind ran through all the possible excuses he could use as to why he hadn't gone to see his father immediately. He could tell him that he wanted to change before, but the state of his clothes, which were still covered in mud from sitting on the forest floor, proved this to be untrue. He could say he was tending to the horses but this was Merlin's job, as was taking care of his weaponry and everything else he could think of. Well he supposed this meant he was going to have to blame Merlin.

He frowned as there was no retort from Merlin. He had expected Merlin to start ranting about how Arthur always blamed him and how he didn't want to spend another day in the stocks. Instead however there was silence from Merlin's end. He seemed to be very absorbed in the conversation he was having with Morgana and was blocking Arthur. He briefly wondered what they could be talking about but was brought back to reality by his father's voice.

"Arthur, how nice of you to finally join us." The king said, gazing at Arthur in the way that always made Arthur feel like he had done something wrong, "Leon says you have just returned, I hope your trip was successful."

Arthur glanced at the knight next to his father who was shifting uncomfortably on the spot. He wished for a moment that he could communicate silently with Leon as he really needed to know what the other man had told his father. He restrained the sigh of frustration that was threatening to burst free and realised he was just going to have to wing it.

"I apologise for not coming to give my report earlier but I thought it best to clean up before hand." Arthur said improvising, "However I was told you wanted to see me urgently so..."

Arthur trailed off, realising his lie wasn't really believable. However Uther seemed to accept his words and turned back to the map lain out in front of him.

"So the creature is dead?"

"Yes father. It will not be bothering us anymore." Arthur once again glanced at Leon curiously and realised he was going to have to go fishing for more information, "But I am surprised Leon hasn't filled you in on all that."

Arthur saw the flash of annoyance in his father's eyes and suddenly realised why the king had sent Gwen to find him rather than waiting for him to come and make his report.

"Sir Leon seemed to think it would be better if I heard it from you." Uther said, his eyes flicking between the two men.

"Well," Arthur started, avoiding his father's questioning gaze, "The creature was here," He indicated to a point on the map on the table, "It was twice as tall as any man. We managed to defeat it but there were losses on our side."

At this Arthur took a deep breath, he could see the three men they had lost in his mind's eye and it pained him to remember their faces. Sir Gauen, who had been the first to fall foul of the webs, Sir Lucian, who had sacrificed himself to save Arthur from the Neith, and Sir Kay, Arthur was still having trouble processing his loss. He realised that his father was watching him expectantly and shook himself out of the despair.

"Sir Gauen, Sir Lucian and Sir Kay fought bravely but didn't make it back."

He saw Leon glance at him with a small frown but Arthur wasn't going to tell his father how they had really died. They were all brave knights and they deserved to be remembered with honour not disgrace, especially Lucian.

"Sir Lamrock was also among the dead my Lord." Leon chipped in and Arthur felt a pang of guilt that he didn't even know he was dead.

Arthur could have sworn he saw a look of sadness in his father's eyes but it was quickly gone. However it made Arthur wonder; was his father as affected by the knights' deaths as he was? He had always thought he was weak for feeling emotion over it as his father never showed any, but maybe he was just much better at hiding it.

"The creature left webs strung between the trees in the area which have been attacking people who touch them. We need to warn people to keep away from them."

"Of course, a messenger shall be dispatched to the villages nearby." Uther commanded, signalling to the guards by the door who bowed at him and left, "Is this everything?"

Arthur exchanged a look with Leon. He was still angry over what his knights had done, however he knew that his father's anger would be many times worse than his own.

"Yes father."

"There is nothing else you need to inform me about?"

"No father."

Arthur heard Leon breathe a sigh of relief next to him. He knew he couldn't tell his father what they had done. Although he was disappointed in them there was a bond between him and the knights, almost as strong as the code that bound them together. He couldn't tell on them, it would betray the trust and loyalty he had been trying for so long to build.

Uther's eyes narrowed as he looked between them. Arthur knew his father didn't believe him but it wasn't like he could call his son a liar in front of Leon. They endured his inspection for a couple more minutes before Uther sighed in defeat and stood up.

"You've done well my son." Uther said, clasping Arthur on the shoulder.

Arthur felt a rush of pride flow through him. It wasn't often he got praise from his father and, as much as he would tell himself it didn't matter to him, he was pleased to be able to live up to his father's high expectations.

Leon bowed and left, shooting Arthur a thankful look on his way out. Uther moved towards the doors, indicating Arthur should follow him. They left the hall and continued down the corridor. Uther was talking to him but Arthur wasn't listening. Merlin had dropped the block that had been shutting him out and Arthur could have sworn he heard Merlin say how similar he was to Morgana.

_Did you just say I am similar to Morgana? I am nothing like her. You'd better take that back Merlin or I'm going to make you pay._

To his frustration Merlin just ignored him and continued talking to Morgana. He couldn't hear her side of the conversation, being too far away, just Merlin's. But that was bad enough.

_Hey! I do give her credit when she does something useful. But her main goal in life is to drive me insane, why would I give her credit...._

He broke off as he felt something happen inside of him. It felt as if there was something swirling through him. Something alien that shouldn't be there. He took a few more tentative steps before he had to stop and lean on the wall for support. His whole body felt weak and he wasn't sure what was happening to him. He felt like he was going to throw up and his head was pounding.

_Merlin what's going on? What is this?_

He felt Merlin's concern and felt pleased he was actually worried. But that was short lived as Merlin's concern turned to exasperation and his cheeky reply came flooding through.

_It's called magic Arthur. Just be thankful you don't have to live with it._

_What have you done to me? _Arthur thought fearfully, _You've given me magic. Get rid of it. Now!_

Arthur heard Merlin sigh and start to explain. He listened as Merlin explained that the magic was stuck inside him because it hadn't had anywhere to go. He started to panic as Merlin said it was going to be inside him until the spell worked or it could find a way out. That couldn't happen to him. He was the crown prince; he couldn't start spurting magic randomly. Especially with his father nearby.

His father! He looked up to see that Uther was stood in front of him speaking. However all Arthur could hear was the buzzing inside his head and Merlin's thoughts. He tried to walk but staggered until his father grabbed hold of him to steady him. He tried to tell him he was fine but all that came out was a low groan as he clutched his head frantically.

He knew what was happening. The magic that Merlin had said was inside of him was trying to find a way out. Well there was no way he was going to let it. He was not going to start releasing magic, he'd be killed. He pushed it back stubbornly and the pressure relieved slightly, only to come back moments later ten times worse.

Now even Merlin's thoughts were disjointed but the small part of his mind that was still working reasoned that this was more likely due to Merlin's panic that he could feel flooding through the bond. He closed his eyes, trying to concentrate on keeping the magic inside of him. He could vaguely hear his father shouting in his ear and Merlin shouting in his mind but he pushed that away. He was Arthur Pendragon; he was not going to let magic beat him.

That was the last coherent thought that he managed before everything went black.

**

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In case there is any confusion Arthur's thoughts in the second half of the chapter are mainly in response to Merlin's thoughts in the first half, during his conversation with Morgana. The two parts are happening at the same time. I hope this clears up any confusion their might have been. If it doesn't feel free to ask any questions you might have in a review and I will try and clear it up. Even if you don't have any questions you could always leave a review anyway with any comments you have, I'd love to hear them. *hint hint* x


	18. Chapter 18

_**So here's another chapter for you. I hope it answers some of your questions. As always I'd love to know what you think. As always thanks to everyone who's reviewed and Roses-as-lips for the beta. Enjoy. x**_

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Previously

He knew what was happening. The magic that Merlin had said was inside of him was trying to find a way out. Well there was no way he was going to let it. He was not going to start releasing magic, he'd be killed. He pushed it back stubbornly and the pressure relieved slightly, only to come back moments later ten times worse.

Now even Merlin's thoughts were disjointed but the small part of his mind that was still working reasoned that this was more likely due to Merlin's panic that he could feel flooding through the bond. He closed his eyes, trying to concentrate on keeping the magic inside of him. He could vaguely hear his father shouting in his ear and Merlin shouting in his mind but he pushed that away. He was Arthur Pendragon; he was not going to let magic beat him.

That was the last coherent thought that he managed before everything went black.

* * *

Merlin raced down the corridor towards where he knew Arthur was. Morgana's confusion and questions had faded away as he had moved away from her rooms however Arthur's thoughts seemed to be getting stronger. Merlin cursed himself for not thinking of this earlier. The magic that had been left in him had just moulded with his natural magic and he hadn't thought any more of it. Hadn't even considered how it would react inside Arthur, who didn't have any magic of his own.

Skidding round the corner Merlin wondered why the magic hadn't tried to fight its way out of Arthur earlier. Remembering the incident with Morgause and the circumstances surrounding Arthur's birth Merlin presumed that because Arthur was born of magic that he had some tolerance for it. However it was clearly starting to push its way out now. He thought Arthur would be alright once the magic had left him but was unsure why it was having trouble leaving.

And then it hit him. Arthur was keeping it in. Merlin ground his teeth in frustration at the prince's stubbornness. Merlin had always said it would get him killed and it seemed that he was about to be proved right. Because Merlin had a sneaking suspicion that if the magic couldn't leave naturally it would tear Arthur apart trying to escape the alien prison.

He turned another corner to see Arthur, supported by the king, at the other end. He reached them in time to help catch the prince as he went limp in his father's arms. Merlin helped the king to supporthim, preventing him from falling on the floor. He glanced at Uther to see he was gazing at his son fearfully, pale faced and shaking.

"What's wrong with him?" He barked at Merlin, his eyes never leaving his son.

"Um... I'm not sure." Merlin replied, unsure what to do next, "I think he must have sustained an injury during the fight, however he didn't inform me of it. We need to get him to Gaius."

King and manservant supported the prince down the corridor, half carrying half dragging him. They didn't pass anyone on the way and Merlin heard Uther cursing the lack of help. Merlin however was thankful that they didn't meet anyone on the way. He knew he needed to get rid of the king so he could fix this and release the magic, but he also knew that it was unlikely that the king would leave his son in this state.

They reached Gaius' chambers and Merlin pushed the door open with one hand, keeping a firm hold of Arthur with the other. Gaius looked up from the book he had been reading at the noise. He saw Merlin had returned and breathed a sigh of relief that he had avoided injury at the hands of the Neith. However he frowned as he saw that Merlin was followed by the king. Uther looked panicked and flustered; Gaius hadn't seen him this frantic since the death of his wife. All these thoughts were pushed out of his head as he saw the figure being supported between the two of them.

He motioned them to place Arthur on the small bed in the corner. He followed them over and inspected the man. There didn't seem to be any blood on him so Gaius swiftly concluded that his current condition had been caused by something other than a physical injury. One look at Merlin's face confirmed this.

Merlin caught Gaius' gaze and jerked his head at the king. He hoped his message got through as he didn't have any idea how to fill Gaius in with the king there. Thankfully Gaius gave him a small nod before turning to the king. Merlin knelt down and started checking Arthur's temperature and pulse, making himself look as busy as possible. He didn't look up when he heard Gaius speak to the king.

"Sire I'm sorry to ask you this as I know it is far below your position but I need some cloths from the linen store." Gaius said calmly, "I wouldn't ask this of you normally but I need Merlin to help me examine the prince."

There was a tense moment where Merlin thought Uther might insist on staying, however the retreating footsteps told him otherwise. He heard the door shut and turned to look at Gaius who had moved to the prince's other side.

"Merlin what happened? Was it the Neith?" Gaius asked quickly, watching with concern as the prince tossed and turned on the bed.

Merlin was momentarily confused as to what Gaius was talking about until he realised that the elderly physician didn't know that they had actually been back a while.

"No that was fine, though Arthur now knows about my magic." Merlin said.

Gaius looked panicked and opened his mouth to ask Merlin the questions that were running through his mind but Merlin cut him off.

"We haven't got time. Yes it's working again. Yes he's okay with it. Oh and he knows about Morgana's as well, she was the one that got us stuck in each other's heads."

Gaius looked at Merlin stunned. He wasn't quite sure how to process all that information or where to start. He had momentarily forgotten about the prince but a groan from the bed brought him back to reality.

"Look we haven't got time for this now; we need to fix it before the king gets back." Merlin said frantically, "We found out it was Morgana and went to see if she could break the spell but she said she didn't know how. So we tried to break it together but it didn't work, there was something stopping it. But all the magic from the spell we were trying stayed within us and I didn't think anything of it because it just joined with my magic, but there wasn't anything for it to join with in Arthur and so it's trying to escape but he's too damn stubborn and won't let it out."

Merlin was talking so fast it took Gaius a moment to register what he'd said. However once he did he snapped into action, his brain running through all the possible solutions.

"Can you talk to him through your link; you need to get him to let it go." Gaius said, his calm voice not reflecting the panic he was feeling.

Merlin turned to Arthur and tried to get through. He closed his eyes in concentration, pushing out the real world and focusing on Arthur's presence in his mind.

_Arthur? Arthur can you hear me? Arthur you have to let it go, it needs to get out of you. _

However he wasn't getting any reply. He could hear Arthur's frantic, delirious thoughts which seemed to be focused on keeping the magic inside him. Merlin ground his teeth in frustration. He knew the prince could hear him but was blocking his thoughts, refusing to listen. He cast around for some way to get Arthur to listen. He knew the king would be back soon and they had to do something before he returned.

Suddenly an idea hit him. He moved closer to Arthur and slapped him. Gaius looked at his young ward in shock, wondering if he'd finally cracked. However the prince seemed to have stopped thrashing on the bed and was now lying still. Merlin watched him fearfully, hoping that hitting Arthur had gotten him to listen. And sure enough the angry voice in his mind told him Arthur was finally listening.

_Merlin! What they hell was that. You are so going in the stocks for this._

_Arthur shut up! You need to let the magic out. It's trying to escape and you have to let it, stop trying to keep it in._

_No. I will not let magic beat me. I'm going to control this even if it kills me._

_Stop being such a stubborn control freak. It will kill you if you don't let go. It's going to tear you apart trying to get out if you don't let it escape naturally._

Merlin breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Arthur had finally listened to him. He stood up and moved a couple of paces back from Arthur's bedside, indicating Gaius should do the same. He saw Arthur breathe a small sigh as he stopped fighting the magic. However nothing seemed to happen.

Gaius frowned in confusion as nothing happened. He looked up at Merlin to see if it was just something he couldn't see. However the boy seemed to be staring at the door of the chambers, his face full of fear.

"Morgana's coming, and the king's with her."

Gaius was about to ask how Merlin knew that when the door opened and Uther entered followed by his ward. Unfortunately for everyone involved this was the moment that the magic chose to leave Arthur. Silence filled the room as everyone stared at the prince in shock and awe.

Arthur was now glowing with magic. The air around him was coloured with power. Tendrils of purple, gold and red entwined round each other as they left the prince's body and disappeared into the air. Merlin recognised the gold as his magic and the purple as Morgana's. He presumed the red must be Arthur's contribution to the incomplete spell.

After a moment all the colour disappeared and the room returned to normal. No one spoke as everyone tried to process what they had just seen. Merlin and Gaius were pressed against opposite walls of the room having been pushed back by the power emanating from Arthur. Morgana and Uther were still stood in the doorway staring into the room in shock.

Merlin was the first to move. He made his way over to Arthur who was now stirring. He reached his bedside just as the prince opened his eyes.

"How you feeling?" He asked.

"Much better." Arthur said, attempting to sit up.

However Merlin pushed him back down, refusing to let the prince get up.

_You need to rest. _Merlin told him fiercely.

_Well it seems it didn't get rid of the link. _Arthur said with a smile, _And I'm fine, I don't need to rest. _

Merlin ignored his protest and kept one hand on Arthur's shoulder to keep him put. He glanced over at the door, well aware that Uther had witnessed the whole thing and wondered how long it was going to be for the king to explode. He didn't have to wait long as the king got over his initial shock and rounded on them.

"What on earth is going on here? I know magic when I see it and that was definitely it! What have you done to my son?"

Uther was shouting at Merlin, obviously having decided it was his fault. Arthur just gaped at his father, unable to believe that he was actually blaming Merlin for all of this. Merlin was stunned, backing away from the slowly advancing king. Fortunately Gaius still had his wits about him and stepped in before the king could get any further.

"Sire your son was the victim of a terrible curse. I believe it was inflicted by the Neith before its death. I administered a potion to chase the curse out just before you arrived. What you saw was it leaving your son's body."

Merlin marvelled, not for the first time, at how good Gaius was at lying to the king. Uther turned to look at the physician slowly, trying to process what he had just said.

"Cursed? But he was fine moments before." Uther said confused, "You said creature wasn't magical."

"It seems that your son was fighting the curse internally, it may have been he wasn't even aware of it, so it took a while for it to get a hold on him. I must have been mistaken about the Neith's connection with magic. As I said it hadn't been seen in hundreds of years so my resources were limited."

As Merlin watched the king seemed to visibly deflate in front of them. He glanced briefly at Merlin again before turning to his son. Merlin didn't expect an apology from the king so wasn't really surprised when it didn't come.

Uther made his way over to Arthur' bedside. Merlin had moved away when Uther had advanced on him and Arthur had taken the opportunity to sit up, no longer hindered by Merlin's protests. The king hesitated and then clasped Arthur's shoulder affectionately again. Morgana rolled her eyes at the lack of emotion shown by the two royals.

"I'm glad to see you are feeling better son." He said woodenly, "You are excused of your duties for today but I expect to see you returned to them tomorrow."

Uther turned, nodded at Gaius, and exited the room. The four of them stared at him stunned. Morgana was the first to recover this time.

"Well that was the most emotional moment I have ever seen." She said sarcastically, turning back to the others, "You could have died and the best he can do is 'excuse you from your duties for today'." She said mockingly.

"Morgana," Gaius scolded, "He was very concerned about Arthur when he and Merlin brought him in."

"I know. I bumped into him in the corridor and he was frantic with worry. But then the moment Arthur recovers he goes back to being a cold-hearted bastard."

"Morgana you should not speak of the king like that!" Gaius reprimanded and Morgana looked slightly embarrassed.

She moved over to Arthur and perched on the end of the bed. Arthur knew she wasn't going to say anything about him being okay either but he could feel the relief pouring from her and Merlin through their bond and knew they were glad he was unharmed. He looked up to see Gaius surveying the three of them. Merlin had moved back to his place beside Arthur's bed. The three of them felt like naughty children caught in the act. They waited in silence for Gaius to speak. Eventually he sank onto the bench with a sigh.

"You three have a lot of explaining to do."


	19. Chapter 19

_**Hey guys. Sorry it's been a while, I've been swamped with work and things have been pretty hectic. But it's here at last. Thanks to all of you for sticking with it. There's only a few more chapters to go, and I mean it this time, so I'd love to know what you think. Enjoy. x**_

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Previously

She moved over to Arthur and perched on the end of the bed. Arthur knew she wasn't going to say anything about him being okay either but he could feel the relief pouring from her and Merlin through their bond and knew they were glad he was okay. He looked up to see Gaius surveying the three of them. Merlin had moved back to his place beside Arthur's bed. The three of them felt like naughty children caught in the act. They waited in silence for Gaius to speak. Eventually he sank onto the bench with a sigh.

"You three have a lot of explaining to do."

* * *

They had filled Gaius in on all that had happened since the boys' minds had linked. He had sat in silence the whole time waiting for them to finish. When they got to the part about something missing to be able to break the bond Gaius gave Merlin a sharp look, which Arthur missed as he was trying to figure out how to persuade them that he was fine and didn't need to be bed ridden, and the other boy squirmed slightly in his seat. Morgana, who had been paying more attention than Arthur, caught the exchange between them and filed it away for later inspection.

When they had finished they had sat in silence for a moment, waiting for Gaius' response. He had inspected them all closely then sighed in despair. He knew there was nothing he could do for them; they were going to have to fix it themselves. He hoped that the two boys would manage to get over their stubbornness and open up to each other, however he didn't have high expectations.

"Well it seems even when it looks like you're staying out of trouble you're still in the middle of another mess." He said eventually.

Merlin and Arthur smiled sheepishly and Morgana just flashed him an innocent smile. He chuckled at them and turned his attention to the prince.

"Sire I think it best if you remain in bed for the day. Your body has been through a lot releasing the magic and I think it best of you don't put any more unnecessary strain on it."

Merlin sniggered as Arthur sighed in frustration. He opened his mouth to protest but a knock at the door interrupted him. It opened to reveal a young maid who looked slightly stunned to see the prince and the king's ward there. However she quickly recovered her composure and delivered her message.

"Gaius the king wishes to see you in his chambers." She said quickly.

Curtsying quickly to the two nobles she hurried from the room. Gaius sighed, knowing full well this was Uther's way of seeing how his son was doing despite being perfectly able to come down and check on him himself. He turned towards the door and exited the room giving Merlin a look that clearly told him to keep the prince in bed.

The smile dropped from Merlin's face as he realised he was going to have to be the one to keep Arthur in bed. He had liked the thought of Arthur going slowly mad, being stuck in bed all day, but if he had to be the one keeping him there, it was going to make his life a whole lot harder.

Both Arthur and Morgana heard this thought. Arthur replied by smirking at Merlin, resolving to make his job just that little bit harder. Morgana watched the exchange between the two rolling her eyes. She moved towards the door and was almost out before Arthur called her back.

"Where are you going?"

"Well I haven't got time to be hanging around here all day. I have important things to do." She replied with a smile, "Have fun."

And with that she exited the room, leaving the two boys to glare at the empty door.

_She doesn't really have anything to do, does she? _Merlin asked sulkily.

_Nope, unless you count wandering round all day being a general pain. _Arthur replied.

Luckily for him Morgana was out of range of the link and so didn't hear his words. If she had Merlin was sure she would be back in a shot to make Arthur regret his thoughts.

"And if you think you are going to confine me to my chambers all day you have another thing coming." Arthur said, sitting up and starting to get out of the bed, "I am perfectly fine, I do not need to stay in bed all day."

He had almost fully stood up when he found himself inexplicably lying back on the bed unable to get up. He glanced at Merlin just in time to see his eyes fade from gold back to blue.

_Merlin! Let me go! _Arthur practically screamed in Merlin's head causing him to wince, _I swear to god if you don't I will make your life a living hell._

_More than you do already? _Merlin said sarcastically but released Arthur from the spell anyway.

The prince sat up but made no attempt to get out of the bed this time. He eyed Merlin warily, trying to decide his next move. However he discovered it was rather hard to outwit your opponent when he was in your head, even if your opponent was an idiot like Merlin.

_Hey! This is not helping your case. _Merlin said hearing Arthur insult him.

"Look there is no way I am staying in bed all day; I have important things to do."

Arthur glared at Merlin who had scoffed at his last words.

"Gaius prescribed bed rest for the entire day. He will make me clean out the leech tank again if he sees you up." Merlin said simply sinking into one of the chairs, "So it seems we are at a stalemate."

"Not really. There is no way you are going to be able to get me to my room to stay in bed, magic or not. So you may as well give up now."

Arthur didn't like the evil look that crossed Merlin's face at his words. He tried poking in his mind to see what the other boy was planning but he couldn't get past the blocks. His eyes narrowed as Merlin stood up and started moving towards the door.

"Well if you won't stay in your own room then you'll have to stay here." Merlin said opening the door.

_Where do you think you're going?_

Merlin turned back and flashed Arthur a smile.

_Weren't you complaining about how I never tidy your room? I think I'll get onto it now._

And with that he ran out the door, closing it behind him.

_MERLIN! _Arthur bellowed.

However Merlin ignored him. Arthur could see Merlin through their link, whistling as he walked down the corridor. Angrily he swung his legs out of bed and quickly stood up. The moment he did he instantly regretted it as his head started to spin. He sat back on the bed slowly, waiting for the room to stop spinning. Maybe there was something in what Gaius had been saying.

_Told you. _Came the cheeky voice in his head.

Arthur angrily swore at Merlin who just chuckled and continued on his way. Once the room was steady again Arthur stood up, slowly this time. Once he was satisfied he wasn't going to have a repeat of last time he moved slowly over to the door and tried the handle, only to discover it was locked. Arthur was sure that Merlin hadn't locked the door with any key and so was left with magic as the only possibility. Angrily he rattled the door handle again, hoping that somehow that would break the spell, although he knew it was no good.

Ignoring the irritating chuckling coming from Merlin Arthur sank into the closest chair. His body was aching as if he had just had a strenuous workout. He realised that the magic had taken a greater toll on him than he'd thought. He stretched his aching arms above his head and sighed angrily.

_Damn Merlin for being right. _He grumbled moodily to himself.

_I'm always right; I'd have thought you'd have learnt that by now. _The irritating reply echoed through his mind.

Arthur restrained himself from snapping at the other boy and tried a different tack.

_Okay fine you were right, are you happy now? _He thought back, _Will you come let me out already._

_I can't Arthur, I've still got to tidy your room, polish your arm__our__, groom your horses and I'm sure there's something I'm missing, _Merlin said, way to happily for Arthur's liking, _Oh yeah, fill your room with spiders._

Arthur sat bolt upright at that and started shouting obscenities at the other boy through their link. Merlin however just ignored Arthur's swearing and blocked him out. Frustrated Arthur picked up the closest thing to him and threw it across the room. The vile smashed on the wall opposite him and the foul smelling liquid trickled down towards the wall. Arthur felt a pang of guilt as he realised that he'd taken his anger out on Gaius' belongings when it was Merlin he was mad at.

Suddenly an idea hit him and he smiled wickedly. Fortunately Merlin was still blocking him out and Arthur could sense that the other boy was feeling pleased with himself. Well I'll have to do something about that, Arthur thought happily. He was not going to be beaten by his manservant.

He got up slowly, all too aware that his head was still feeling slightly foggy. He made his way over to the door to Merlin's room and pushed it open. He frowned at the sight that met his eyes. He had planned on taking his anger out by trashing Merlin's room, except he wasn't sure the other boy would notice. Merlin's belongings were thrown haphazardly around the room. Arthur realised that Merlin still hadn't learnt how to use a cupboard.

He sank down onto Merlin's bed in frustration. He was all too aware that Merlin wasn't going to be back anytime soon and so Arthur was stuck here. Bored he surveyed the mess around him and realised that it wasn't as chaotic as he had thought. There was obviously some order to the madness and the smile reappeared on Arthur's face as he came up with another plan. If Merlin had been paying attention he would have felt the triumph that was emanating off the prince in waves but he was too busy blocking him, unaware that he had stopped cursing him a long time ago.

Arthur stood up and started to rearrange the mess on Merlin's floor. It took him the best part of an hour but Arthur eventually stood up feeling pleased with himself. He knew how childish this was, though it wasn't any worse than locking someone in a room, but somehow he couldn't bring himself to care. The weariness that Arthur had been ignoring while he worked suddenly returned and he flopped down onto Merlin's bed, falling asleep before his head hit the pillow.

---

Merlin returned to Gaius' chambers some hours later feeling slightly guilty. He hadn't meant to be gone so long but he had kept being accosted by people who wanted him to do some job or another. To make things worse he had gotten a message that Gaius wasn't going to be back till late as there had been some sort of emergency he had had to deal with in the lower town, so there was no chance that Arthur would have been let out.

He knew how mad the prince was going to be and so hadn't dropped his block, fearing the reaction that was awaiting him. He hurried down the corridor and stopped outside the door, chewing his lip nervously. He couldn't hear anything from the other side of the door which was either a good thing or a really bad one.

Checking the corridor for signs of life he whispered a quick unlocking spell and pushed the door open. Stepping inside he was puzzled to see that Arthur was nowhere in sight. For a brief moment he feared that Arthur had decided to climb out the window or something equally stupid. However he dismissed this idea as he had felt the weary pouring through the link from Arthur even if the other boy hadn't noticed himself.

Closing the door behind him Merlin made his way over to the door at the other side of the room and opened it. He breathed a sigh of relief as he saw that Arthur was lying on his bed, fast asleep. He wasn't sure why Arthur had decided to move from Gaius' bed to Merlin's but Merlin was just thankful that he wasn't awake to shout at him. He surveyed the room to see if Arthur had decided to amuse himself by trashing it. Although, Merlin reflected, he doubted he would notice if Arthur had.

He turned back to Arthur and realised that he had a way out of his problem. He could pretend he had been back for hours and had decided not to wake the sleeping prince. Smiling in triumph he turned to leave the room when he heard movement behind him. He turned back to see that Arthur was starting to wake up. Before he could decide if it was a good idea to be in the room when Arthur woke up his eyes opened and he spotted Merlin by the door.

Arthur groaned as he sat up in the bed, glaring at Merlin angrily. He didn't know how Merlin could sleep on this pathetic excuse for a bed as his whole body ached from the hard, lumpy mattress.

"You probably ache as a result of the magic not the bed." Merlin pointed out, "Though if you paid me more I'd be able to afford a new one."

Merlin casual tone didn't have the affect of calming the prince that he was going for. If anything Arthur seemed to be glaring more.

_You locked me in! _He stated angrily, pointing a finger at Merlin.

"Are you sure, I don't remember that. Maybe you dreamt it." Merlin replied casually.

_I did not dream it! You locked me in. _Arthur protested.

He sat up fully and glanced out of the small window in Merlin's room. Darkness was falling outside and Arthur suddenly realised how long he must have been asleep.

_Merlin how long were you gone?_

Arthur couldn't find the energy to voice his question out loud so he resorted to communicating through their link. His tired mind hadn't quite managed to build up the energy to be really mad at Merlin, something the young warlock picked up on and decided to use to his advantage.

"I've been back ages Arthur; I just didn't want to wake you. Gaius said you needed the rest to help your body recover from the strain."

Arthur swung his legs out of bed and shakily stood up. He was starting to come more to his senses and he could see the lie in Merlin's words. Though he reasoned that he probably would have noticed even if he had still been half asleep as Merlin was such a terrible liar.

_Hey if I were such a terrible liar would I have been able to hide my magic from you for so long?_

Arthur just glared at Merlin and pushed past him out of the room. Merlin followed Arthur as he staggered to the door and out into the corridor. Rolling his eyes in exasperation Merlin followed just in time to catch Arthur as he stumbled. However Arthur just glared at him and pushed his hands away, continuing on down the corridor using the wall as support.

_Are you not talking to me then? _Merlin asked.

He watched in amusement as Arthur sank down onto the floor in irritation, his legs finally giving out on him. Merlin smiled to himself and sat down next to Arthur with his back against the wall. The prince pointedly ignored him as he struggled to keep his eyes open. He realised that maybe attempting to walk back to his chambers straight away may have been a bad move. However he was too stubborn to ask Merlin for help, especially as he had left him locked in Gaius' chambers for the best part of the day.

They sat in silence for a while neither wanting to be the first to speak. Merlin, who had never liked silence, was the first to break it.

"This is really childish you know?" He said casually.

On reflection he realised that this probably wasn't the best thing to say to get Arthur to talk to him again. He sighed seeing that Arthur wasn't going to talk to him anytime soon and realised that he was probably going to have to apologise.

_Too right you are. _Arthur's response drifted through his mind making him smile.

_Fine I'm sorry for locking you in. I swear I only meant to be gone a minute or two but then I kept getting ambushed by people who needed me to do some job or another._

Arthur stayed silent after Merlin's apology, deciding to let the boy sweat for a while. This would have worked if Merlin hadn't been able to see that Arthur had forgiven him in the prince's mind. Arthur sighed and leant his head back on the wall behind him closing his eyes.

_Gods I can't wait for today to be over. _Arthur muttered, _Fighting giant spiders, finding out that your manservant and sister are sorcerers, trying to break a spell and having magic force its way out of your body is enough for one day thank you._

_Wow you're right, that is a hell of a lot for one day. Fighting the Neith in the forest seems like days ago. _Merlin replied, suddenly feeling as weary as Arthur.

_What was it that Gaius said? _Arthur asked, trying to recall the memory from his foggy mind, _The Neith was either here to 'help us achieve our destiny or destroy us'. It's just our luck for it to be destroy us._

_Maybe it wasn't. _Merlin said after a pause.

_What are you talking about Merlin? It tried to kill us. _Arthur spelled out, looking incredulous.

_Well maybe it was there to help our destiny. I mean maybe it was time for you to find out about __mine and__ Morgana'__s__ magic, maybe that was why it was here._

Arthur mulled over what Merlin had said. His words did seem to connect with the events. Maybe it had been the time for everything to come out. They fell back into silence once again, both lost in thoughts of the Neith. Eventually Arthur felt his head clearing and he staggered to his feet again.

_Merlin you look like death warmed up, go to bed._

With that Arthur started to move towards off down the corridor. Merlin watched him attempt to manage on his own with a smile, before getting up to help the tired prince towards his rooms.


	20. Chapter 20

_**So we've made it to the twenties. The next chapter after this is going to be the last one, it definitely will this time...well probably. I am still going to do alternative ending so you can choose which to read depending on whether you want to read slash or not. I have to say a massive thank you to all my reviewers. 300 reviews! I've never had this many before so seriously love you guys! This is my favourite chapter so far so here it is as a thank you. Enjoy. x**_

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Previously

Arthur mulled over what Merlin had said. His words did seem to connect with the events. Maybe it had been the time for everything to come out. They fell back into silence once again, both lost in thoughts of the Neith. Eventually Arthur felt his head clearing and he staggered to his feet again.

_Merlin you look like death warmed up, go to bed._

With that Arthur started to move towards off down the corridor. Merlin watched him attempt to manage on his own with a smile, before getting up to help the tired prince towards his rooms.

* * *

It was late the next day and Morgana was wondering through the castle aimlessly. She was at loss for what to do with herself. She had spent the last couple of weeks worrying about what her magic had done. But now she had found out and there was nothing she could do about it she didn't quite know what to do now. She knew it was late and Gwen was probably waiting in her chambers for her to retire but she dreaded going to sleep. Her dreams had become more and more confusing and she didn't really want to face that again.

As she moved through the castle she felt the presence grow in her mind and knew Merlin was nearby. She continued down the corridor and felt Arthur's presence too, however it was less pronounced than Merlin's. She knew that the two of them must be nearby and quickened her pace, eager to have something to distract her.

She rounded the corner and sure enough she saw Merlin stood outside Arthur's chambers. This alone was not unusual however Merlin didn't seem to be making any move to enter the prince's chambers or to go and carry out one off his many jobs she was sure he had yet to do. Morgana's frown deepened as she saw that Merlin had his ear pressed against Arthur's door and seemed to be shaking.

Moving forward concerned she realised that he was actually shaking with silent laughter. Feeling even more puzzled Morgana approached Merlin, who had yet to notice her, determined to find out what was going on.

"Merlin? What are you doing?"

Merlin whirled round and, upon spotting her hushed her quickly. Slightly perturbed by Merlin's strange behaviour she reached him, wondering what on earth had gotten into him.

_Merlin?_ She asked again.

She frowned as Merlin seemed to throw up a block around their thoughts, glancing at Arthur's door apprehensively. Morgana could tell that Merlin was doing something he wasn't supposed to be and didn't want Arthur to know they were outside. However, as opposed to making her think twice about finding out, this just made her more intrigued.

_Do you want to see something funny?_ Merlin thought conspiratorially to her.

Glancing at the door a wide smile spread across her face.

_Is it going to annoy Arthur?_ She asked though their link.

_Of course._ Merlin replied, wondering how she could have thought he was doing anything but annoying Arthur.

_Then always._ She replied with a wicked smile.

They both concentrated on the door, waiting for something to happen. They were stood as still as they could outside Arthur's door and Morgana had to stifle a giggle as she realised how odd this would look to anyone walking past. After waiting for a couple of minutes Morgana felt her leg going to sleep beneath her. She moved slightly, leaning on the door for support. Both of the eavesdroppers froze as it creaked slightly. They held their breaths, waiting to see if Arthur was about to come investigate. Fortunately he didn't and they both breathed a small sigh of relief, he would probably have killed them if he'd caught them like this. Bored that nothing was happening Morgana turned to Merlin with a frown.

_Merlin what is supposed to be happening because I don't think..._

Her thoughts were cut off as a high pitched scream cut through the air. She frowned as the scream seemed to have come from Arthur's room. But as far as she knew he hadn't had a girl in there for weeks. Merlin however doubled over with laughter, leaning on the wall for support. Her puzzlement grew as another cry came from behind the door, this one slightly lower but still very girly.

"Who is in there?" Morgana asked Merlin confused, forgetting they were supposed to be quiet.

This however just proceeded to make Merlin laugh even harder that she hadn't worked it out yet. A muffled shout came from behind the door and Morgana recognised the voice instantly.

"Merlin!" Arthur's cry seemed to make the other boy's laughter increase.

Morgana was utterly confused now, unsure what Merlin had done to piss the prince off so much and who it was in the room with Arthur that had been emitting such high pitch shrieks.

_MERLIN! _This time the sound echoed through their minds making Morgana wince with the force of it.

Merlin took a moment to calm his laughter and wipe the tears that had been pouring down his face away before he pushed the door open and entered the room, Morgana close on his heels.

They entered the room and Morgana's keen eyes scanned the room. She was looking to find to the woman who had been screaming however the only person she could see was Arthur. She focused her attention on him and saw his usually arrogant features were uncharacteristically pale and he was staring fearfully at a spot on the floor. He was leaning against the wall having obviously backed away in fear from whatever he was staring at. Morgana followed his eye line and her eyes landed on what Arthur was looking at. She bit her lip, trying to contain her laughter as she realised what it was.

A spider.

And suddenly it all fell into place. Why Merlin had been lurking outside of Arthur's chamber's with a mischievous look on his face, what had pissed Arthur off so much and why she had heard such a high pitched scream even though there was no woman in the room.

Unable to contain herself much longer she felt the laughter burst out of her. She clutched the wardrobe near the door for support as she doubled over with laughter. Merlin had been right, this was funny. After exchanging a look with Morgana Merlin smoothed his features into a suitably innocent expression and turned back to the prince.

"Yes Arthur?" He asked sweetly.

"I. Am. Going. To. Kill. You." Arthur said slowly.

Merlin had to stifle a laugh as Arthur tried to sound threatening but it came out more as a high whine.

"Whatever for Sire?" Merlin asked, feigning ignorance, his eyes widening innocently.

"You know perfectly well what. Get rid of it. Now." Arthur barked.

Merlin couldn't contain himself any longer. The laughter he had been suppressing burst out of him and he joined Morgana laughing at the prince. Arthur's eyes narrowed dangerously at the giggling pair but the spider was between him and them and he wasn't going to pass it even to punish Merlin.

Morgana had sunk to the floor, tears pouring down her face as she struggled to breathe through her laughter. Merlin was still, barely, standing shaking with laughter. He saw Arthur glare at them and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm his laughter.

"I'm glad you find it funny." Arthur said, his tone suggesting this was far from the truth.

Merlin moved forward and scooped the spider up into his hand. Morgana had to admit it was a large spider, about the size of Merlin's palm, and she would probably have been freaked out if it had been in her room, not being a big fan of spiders herself. However the fact that it was Arthur suffering, Arthur who liked to boast about he wasn't scared of anything and had teased her endlessly when they were younger for her fear of the dark, well that made it a whole lot funnier.

_You know it's probably more scared of you than you are of it Arthur. _Merlin thought to the prince being unable to speak through his laughter.

"Just get rid of it Merlin." Arthur snapped, _And you can stop laughing Morgana!_

To Arthur's annoyance his foster sister just kept laughing. He was glad that she seemed to have cheered up, he hadn't seen her laugh like this in a long time, but the fact it was at his expense did not please him.

"Your scream...and the spider...and it wasn't a girl..." Morgana spluttered.

Merlin grinned impishly but quickly removed the smile when he saw Arthur's expression. He knew he was safe for the moment however as he was still holding the spider.

"You are so going in the stocks for this."

"Arthur!" Merlin protested, "You can't put me in the stocks for this. Spiders are everywhere, you can't blame me because one got into your room."

"I wouldn't if it was one, but this is the third time today!" Arthur replied, keeping one eye on the spider, _Anyway I can read your thoughts remember, I know it was you._

Morgana squealed in delight that this was the third time today Arthur had been caught out. She smiled devilishly at Arthur through her laughter; she was never going to let him live this down.

"It's not my fault that spiders seem to like your room."

_Merlin! _Arthur growled.

Arthur saw the familiar grin spread across Merlin's face and could see in his mind that he was remembering the other two incidents that day. Merlin turned to Morgana, whose laughter had subsided a little, and offered her a hand up.

"The first one was the best. When I came in he was stood on the table to get away from it, you should have seen his face."

"Merlin." Arthur said warningly spotting the look that was crossing Morgana's face.

"Seriously?" She asked, hiccuping with laughter, _Hmm it's a shame I missed that, maybe we should try and repeat it._ She said innocently.

She smiled triumphantly as she saw the frustrated thoughts flashing through Arthur's mind. She could see him already planning his revenge but she somehow couldn't see him coming up with anything better than this. Arthur glared at her as he heard her thoughts, but he knew that he wasn't likely to win this. He glanced at Merlin and shivered as he caught sight of the spider in his hands. He didn't understand how the other boy could hold that...thing...in his hands. Merlin sensed Arthur's discomfort and flashed him a cheeky smile before looking back at the spider in his hand. He stroked it softly, whispering to it as he did.

"**Edwenden.**"

Merlin's eyes flashed gold and the spider in his hand shrank to its original size. Arthur had to stifle a gasp as he saw Merlin's eyes change. He was still amazed that his clumsy, useless manservant could do magic. He was even more amazed by how pure it seemed coming from the boy. All his life he had been brought up to think that magic is evil but he was now starting to see the other side to it. He knew now that his father was wrong about magic; it wasn't the magic itself that was evil but the person wielding it.

Merlin heard these thoughts in the prince's mind and beamed at him. He was glad that Arthur was finally seeing what he had known all along. Arthur realised that Merlin was feeling way too comfortable with the situation and glared daggers and the young warlock who was smiling up at him innocently. He realised he needed to regain control of the situation and decided that asserting his authority was the best way to go about that.

"If this is what you are using your 'talents' for then I have no idea why I am still keeping your secret." Arthur said, trying to sound macho.

"Well if that's the case..." Merlin said, his eyes twinkling, taking a couple of steps towards Arthur, spider in hand, _...then you'll have to find someone else to debug your room._

Arthur backed away from the spider in Merlin's outstretched hand, letting out a small squeak he would later deny. He felt his back connect with the wall behind him once again and his gaze flicked fearfully from the spider to Merlin. He saw the look in Merlin's eye and felt foreboding fill him. The spider was inches from Arthur and he felt a shiver of disgust run through him.

"Ah look, he likes you Arthur." Merlin said as he moved the spider closer to the trembling prince.

"Well I don't like him." Arthur said, his stubborn voice wavering, _Merlin please._

Merlin looked up in shock at the tone of Arthur's thought. His eyes met the prince's and he saw the vulnerability in them. He felt something shoot through the link and tug at the pool of magic that was left over from their endeavour the day before. He debated voicing this thought to Arthur but he knew thought he knew what his reaction would be, and Merlin may have to resort to more spiders in his room in payback for his teasing.

Arthur however heard this in Merlin's mind and decided to use this to his advantage, ignoring the pull he felt inside that was similar to the feeling he'd had when the magic was leaving him. Merlin sighed as Arthur looked at him with those pleading eyes. He could sense how uncomfortable the spider was making Arthur and realised he may have gone a little far this time. He took pity on the prince and turned away. Arthur watched Merlin move towards the door with a frown.

_Merlin?_

He turned back to Arthur exasperatedly.

"Do you want me to get rid of the spider or would you rather I left it here?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

Arthur shuddered at the thought of the spider remaining in the room and indicated that Merlin could continue. The young warlock sighed and disappeared through the door. Arthur let out the breath he hadn't noticed he'd been holding and moved away from the wall. He dropped into a chair and glowered at Morgana. She had stopped laughing and was now perched innocently on his bed. But she was still grinning and Arthur way too happily for his liking.

_For god's sake Morgana you could at least pretend not to be so pleased with the whole situation. _He sighed, rubbing his temples in despair.

_But where would be the fun in that brother dear? _She replied cheekily in his mind.

_You're worse than Merlin. _Arthur replied with a sigh, _Remind me again how old you are?_

Morgana stuck her tongue out at him childishly just as Merlin re-entered the room looking affronted.

_What do you mean she's worse than me? _He asked pretending to be outraged, _Who was the one putting spiders in your room?_

_Fine you're more childish than her, happy now? _Arthur replied.

Merlin flashed him a cheeky smile and Arthur rolled his eyes at the other boy. Morgana smiled at the two of them and wished, not for the first time, that things like birth and status didn't matter and that they could just be themselves without having people judging their every move. She sighed and found it turning into a yawn. She glanced out of the window and started as she realised how dark it was, it must have been later than she thought.

She wasn't the only one feeling tired. Her yawn was contagious and Merlin found himself yawning deeply, suddenly overcome by a wave of weary. Something that didn't go unnoticed by Arthur. He smiled as he felt the waves of exhaustion coming from the other two. He had thought that Morgana's nightmares had been getting better but it seemed that in the past couple of weeks she had once again been struggling with her sleep. And he still hadn't found out what it was that was keeping Merlin awake but he looked like he hadn't had a good night's sleep in weeks.

"Go to bed." He said to them, "And don't either of you tell me that you're fine because I can feel your exhaustion."

Morgana sighed and rolled her eyes at him but Merlin didn't complain, he could feel the weariness in his bones and just wanted to collapse onto his bed and stay there. Arthur chuckled slightly at Merlin's thoughts.

"Yes mother." Morgana replied with a cheeky smile, interrupting Arthur's thoughts, "Well I'll see you in the morning, we can have another go at breaking the spell."

And with that she left the room. The two boys felt her consciousness slowly slip from their minds as she moved further away. Eventually Arthur turned to Merlin, who hadn't made any move to leave.

_I don't need anything else Merlin. You deserve a break after everything that's happened, god knows I need one._

_So can I have tomorrow off then? _Merlin asked hopefully.

_You don't deserve that much off a break Merlin. How would I ever punish you for all the spiders that magically appear in my room if I give you the day off?_


	21. Chapter 21 non slash

**Sorry I've left you hanging for so long, exams almost killed me so I didn't have much time for writing. But here it is, the promised last chapter. This is the non-slash version, the next chapter is the slash ending which I should have up in a moment. Feel free to read one ending or both. They should be similar enough that you're not missing anything if you only read one, but different enough that it won't seem repetitive if you read both. I would really like to know what people think of the ending and the whole thing really, and if you read both I'd love to know which one you think is better. Huge thanks to everyone who has reviewed, added this to their favourites, added this to story alert, or even just read this far, I love you guys. And massive thanks to Roses-as-lips for the beta as without her this would probably have been full of my errors. Anyway I'm sorry for the huge author's note. For the last time, enjoy and please review. x**

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Previously

_I don't need anything else Merlin. You deserve a break after everything that's happened, god knows I need one._

_So can I have tomorrow off then? _Merlin asked hopefully.

_You don't deserve that much off a break Merlin. How would I ever punish you for all the spiders that magically appear in my room if I give you the day off?_

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Arthur groaned as he rolled over for what seemed like the hundredth time that night. Although he could feel the exhaustion pouring through his body, sleep was evading him. He flopped onto his back and stared blankly up at the ceiling above him. His mind was running over all that had happened since Morgana had bonded the three of them together and, try as he might, he couldn't get it to shut up. He knew his buzzing mind was what was preventing him from sleeping, but he couldn't tune out.

Giving up on sleep he pushed his covers aside and swung his legs out of bed. Stretching his arms above his head he moved over to the table and poured some water into a nearby goblet. Arthur took a deep swig as he moved towards the window, pushing the curtain aside. Staring out at the moonlit town below he sighed wearily. He lent his head against the cool pane of glass, closing his eyes in exhaustion. He felt tired standing there but knew if he went back to bed he wouldn't be able to sleep.

Frustrated he pushed away from the window and slumped into a chair. He briefly considered doing something productive if he couldn't sleep, but that idea was quickly pushed aside; he was in no state to complete the pile of reports lying unfinished on his desk. He cast round for something to occupy himself with and growled in annoyance as he found that Merlin was sound asleep. The boy spent weeks looking like death warmed up due to lack of sleep and then the one night Arthur can't sleep either, he magically manages to fall asleep. Arthur had a sneaking suspicion that magic, much to his annoyance, was probably the reason behind it.

He let his mind cast back casually over the last month, as it seemed so keen to do. Arthur closed his eyes and sank back into the chair, letting the memories wash over him. Reaching one memory his eyes snapped open and he sat bolt upright, a smile spreading wickedly across his face. Now he had something to occupy himself with; he was going to spy on Merlin's dreams.

Feeling rather pleased with himself Arthur leant forward on the chair, cradling his goblet between both hands. Now he thought about it properly Arthur realised that when Merlin had released his blocks and told him about his magic he had failed to mention the reason behind his lack of sleep. Well Arthur wasn't going to have that; he was going to find out what it was.

However after settling himself into a more comfortable position on the chair he realised he didn't have a clue how to go about spying on the other boy's dreams. He took another swig from the cup and closed his eyes, concentrating on Merlin's presence in his mind.

At first he was met with nothingness but as he pushed further into Merlin's mind he felt a wave of images wash over him. A triumphant smile spread across his face as he realised he was actually watching Merlin's dreams. However the images were flashing past him so fast that it was hard for him to determine what any of the actually were. He saw flashes of him and Merlin fighting another magical creature, a sword at the bottom of a lake guarded by a dark haired woman who seemed familiar to Arthur though he couldn't place her, the pair of them riding out of Camelot, a crown on Arthur's head and a staff in Merlin's hand.

Arthur had to stifle a laugh as he saw the last scene. It was clear that this was Merlin's dream of the future as Arthur seemed to be king, judging by the crown on his head. However it was Merlin's attire that was causing Arthur's amusement. His skinny manservant was dressed in a regal looking deep blue robe that was embroidered with silver stars. What amused Arthur the most was the pointed hat on Merlin's head that was the same blue as his robe and also covered in silver stars.

In Arthur's opinion the other boy looked ridiculous, his mop of raven hair poking out from beneath the hat, both of which were accentuating his ears. Arthur made a mental note to talk Merlin out of ever purchasing an outfit like this no matter how entertaining it would be. Although, Arthur mused, if Merlin was so fond of strange headwear maybe he should bring out The Hat once again. Chuckling Arthur remembered how ridiculous Merlin had looked in the feathered cap that had definitely brought some entertainment to the dull evening.

He smiled to himself and turned back to the scene playing in his mind just in time to see dream Merlin's eyes flash gold and perform magic in the open in front of the whole town. Arthur sat bolt upright in shock at this sight, the goblet falling from his limp hand, as he backtracked and realised what he'd just seen. His mind whirled and he lost his concentration, breaking the link. Ignoring the water that was slowly seeping into the rug, Arthur gripped the arms of his chair as his brain tried to catch up.

The image had seemed to so real that for a moment Arthur had feared for his manservant's life when he had seen him breaking the law in public. Though on reflection he realised that of course Merlin would be dreaming of a future where he didn't have to hide who he truly was. Arthur felt rather frustrated with himself that this had caused the loss of concentration that meant he had been thrown back out of Merlin's mind.

He sighed, determined to see more. Arthur was having way too much fun with this to leave it now. He settled back into his chair, wanting to find some more ammunition to tease Merlin with. Closing his eyes he easily slipped back into Merlin's dreams once again, following the path in his mind he had taken last time.

This time he knew that he needed to gain more control of the images as he wanted to see what the rest of this future Merlin was dreaming about was like. His brow furrowed with concentration as he tried to grab hold of the images. However every time he tried to focus on one image it seemed to jump away from him, much like things tend to do in dreams.

A throbbing pain started in the back of Arthur's mind as he attempted time after time to capture an image. He opened his eyes with a growl of annoyance, sinking his head into his hands. The pain in the back of his head seemed to increase and he rubbed his forehead fruitlessly, trying to clear his mind. It felt almost like someone was trying to scream at him inside his head. However Merlin was fast asleep and Morgana was across the other side of the castle, too far away for their link to be substantial.

Unsure of anyone else who would be able to access his mind Arthur pushed the worrying thought away and returned back to the problem in hand. Closing his eyes he leant back in his chair and returned to Merlin's mind. Deciding to try a new tactic Arthur let the images wash over him, waiting for the one he really wanted to see. Soon enough, through the random images Merlin's mind seemed to have produced, Arthur found the one he had been looking for.

Instead of trying to grab it to his attention this time, Arthur let the image grow stronger in his mind, focusing all his concentration on it. Finally the other images faded away and Arthur was left with only one. He hesitated, unsure what he was supposed to do now. However before he had the chance to try anything, he was thrown headfirst into the image as it filled his mind, almost as if he was having the dream not Merlin.

He watched as dream Arthur sighed at Merlin's blatant showing off but did not seem fazed by his use of magic as if this was something that dream Merlin did a lot. Dream Merlin was performing some trick that Arthur was finding it hard to follow but had the town children amazed. He waved the staff he was holding and the coloured lights that had been dancing around him moved towards each other and exploded in a mass of bright lights as they combined...

_Merlin!_

Arthur was jolted out of the image by a bellowing voice echoing through his mind. He sat bolt upright in shock, angry that he hadn't been able to see how Merlin's dream was going to pan out.

_Merlin!_

The insistent voice came again, louder this time. His manservant's name echoed around his mind and he felt the ache in the back of his head grow. All thoughts of the dream forgotten Arthur tried to find the source of the voice. He cast round his mind, sure that it was in his head and not outside. Something told him that the pain in his head was related to the strange voice.

MERLIN!

Arthur gripped his head in his hands tightly. He felt like his head was about to split in half and he clutched at it, trying to hold it together. The pain, which had started at the back of his head, was now pulsing through his skull.

He didn't know how long he sat there like that but eventually it ebbed away and Arthur found himself able to function again. Massaging his temples he sat up with a groan. He didn't understand who the deep earthy voice belonged to but knew that whoever it was, they weren't pleased with his manservant.

Arthur felt something change in his mind and checked the link to Merlin. His eyes widened as he saw the sudden change. Merlin, who had been sleeping peacefully last time Arthur looked, was tossing and turning fitfully in anguish. More images flashed through Arthur's mind; however these had a decisively darker feel to them.

Camelot burning, the great dragon swooping low overhead, people running and screaming, Merlin crying over a limp figure.

Arthur was out of his chair in a shot and halfway down the corridor before he even registered what he was doing. He knew that this was the reason Merlin hadn't been sleeping and he had an overwhelming urge to help him. Arthur swiftly stalked down the corridor towards Merlin's room.

He paused as he turned the corner, realising what a sight he must make. He hadn't thought to change before he went charging through the castle so he was only wearing the under trousers he had gone to bed in. He realised that he was going to have to watch out to make sure that no one saw him like this. It would not do for people to see the crown prince wandering around the castle shirtless.

He continued through the winding corridors, ducking round corners and into dark alcoves when he spotted any servants walking past. He didn't understand how they could still be up at this time of night; it was way past midnight which, in Arthur's opinion, was not an hour people should be awake.

He reached Gaius' chambers and hesitated outside the door. The realisation of what he was actually doing hit Arthur at that moment. He paused, wondering whether he should just turn back and return to bed. But the anguish that was pouring through the bond from Merlin pushed him forward. He had never been one to back down so he gently pushed the door open, careful not to let it creak too loud.

Stepping inside Arthur surveyed the familiar room and spotted Gaius asleep on the bed in the corner. Moving slowly he made his way past the many obstacles that seemed to be strewn randomly around the room but Arthur knew that Gaius always had an order to the chaos. He picked his way round the table, careful not to knock anything off.

He made it across the room without incident and hesitated once again outside the door to Merlin's small room. He could hear his manservant's cries of distress through the door and was surprised that Gaius had managed to sleep through it. Throwing a quick glance at his sleeping figure Arthur pushed the door open and entered the room, closing the door behind him.

He surveyed the room and wrinkled his nose in distaste; he couldn't quite believe that he had actually slept in here the day before. It was clear Merlin still hadn't attempted to tidy the mess over his floor and Arthur had to pick his way carefully through the chaos to make sure as not to fall over anything.

Eventually he reached Merlin's side and his gaze landed on the boy in the bed next to him. Merlin was thrashing round, tangled up in his sheets, sweat pouring off him. Arthur could still hear the voice in his head shouting Merlin's name but he was successfully blocking the worst of it out, he realised that it was probably ten times worse for the young warlock.

Arthur hesitated, unsure as to what should be his next move. He knew he had to break Merlin out of the dream that seemed to have him captive but wasn't really sure how to go about it. He tried to shake Merlin's shoulder but the boy was writhing around so much that Arthur couldn't get a grip on him.

"Merlin!" He hissed quietly.

He was very aware that Gaius was asleep in the next room and that if he found Arthur in Merlin's chambers dressed as he was it wouldn't bode well for either of them.

"Merlin!" He repeated, louder this time.

However it had as little effect as it had had the first time. Merlin was well and truly stuck in his dream and Arthur bit his lip in worry, surveying the boy on the bed. Merlin looked a mess, Arthur could see the shadows below his eyes had deepened since the last time he had noticed them and Merlin was looking much thinner, even for him, and Arthur resolved to make sure he ate properly from now on even if he had to force the food down the other boy's throat.

Snapping out of his thoughts Arthur rubbed his forehead in despair, trying to decide what to do next. Never one for subtlety Arthur went for blunt force.

_MERLIN!_

Said boy shot bolt upright as Arthur's words echoed through his head. Eyes wide they darted around the room as he tried to bring his still sleep-fuddled brain to the present. His head was reeling as he tried to process what was going on but he couldn't quite get a grip on reality.

Firm hands grasped his shoulders and he let out a gasp of shock. His eyes darted to the figure next to him and they landed on a face full of worry. It took him a moment to realise that the person was Arthur. A small part of his brain was fumbling round for a reason as to why he was there while another part seemed to be panicking that there was something Arthur wasn't supposed to find out, but he couldn't remember what that was.

However the main part of his mind was still in the dream. It had seemed so real that part of him believed that what he was seeing at the moment was actually the dream, for why else would Arthur be in his room if it wasn't a dream, or maybe he'd just come up with a new list of things he needed Merlin to do and had been too impatient to wait till the morning to tell him, said a wry voice at the back of his mind.

"The dragon...I can't do it...I can't set him free." Merlin babbled.

Arthur frowned as he tried to make sense of Merlin's ramblings. He realised that the voice that had been screaming in his head must have been the dragon under the castle. But why was Merlin talking about setting him free, surely he couldn't be that stupid?

"Not stupid...I promised...needed his help to save you." Merlin mumbled, his eyelids drooping.

Arthur saw he was about to fall back to sleep and he shook the slender boy gently.

"Merlin? What do you mean you promised?" He asked softly.

"Needed spell...promised him...but I can't, I can't."

Arthur could feel Merlin shaking beneath his hands and Arthur, who was never any good at comforting people, didn't have a clue what to do.

"I saw it...saw what he'll do...crystal...kill them..." Merlin trailed off.

His eyes bored into Arthur's and he seemed to be trying to make the prince understand something but Arthur didn't really have a clue what he was trying to say. Fortunately the message coming through the link was much clearer. Arthur saw Merlin talking to the dragon, making a promise to free him in exchange for the way to defeat Sigan. He saw the two of them camping after defeating the druids. Saw Merlin succumb to temptation and look into the crystal. Images flashed across his mind and he knew this was what Merlin had seen.

He glanced back at Merlin, his eyes wide in shock. It had been over three months since they had gotten back from retrieving the crystal and Arthur couldn't believe that Merlin had been carrying this alone all that time.

_Had to...couldn't let you know. Needed to protect you._

Merlin's disjointed thoughts floated through the link and into Arthur's mind. Arthur didn't understand half of Merlin's babbling but he understood that the other boy seemed to feel the need to carry everything on his shoulders. He sighed at Merlin's stubbornness, that boy was impossible sometimes.

"Merlin I don't need you to protect me, I am perfectly capable of looking after myself you know." He replied.

Arthur raised his eyebrows as Merlin scoffed at his comment.

_It's for your own good...had to deal with it myself._

"Merlin you are an idiot, you don't have to deal with everything on your own." Arthur scolded.

Merlin eyes widened more at the use of the fond insult. Part of him had still believed that this was a dream but it was such an Arthur-like comment that Merlin was having trouble believing that still. Without breaking their eye contact he hesitantly reached one hand to the strong hand on his shoulder. His fingertips contacted with Arthur's hand and he let out a gasp of surprise. He was now faced with the incontestable fact that this wasn't a dream, or it was the most realistic dream he had ever had.

A small frown creased Arthur's face as he watched Merlin's strange actions however he didn't do anything to stop the other boy. He felt Merlin grip his hand and smiled reassuringly at the younger boy.

"It is you." Merlin whispered softly, "You are really here."

The innocent delight in Merlin's voice made Arthur smile fondly at him and he felt a strong urge to keep the younger boy safe from whatever it was that was terrifying him.

"So now I see why you not been sleeping. I imagine it would be difficult with that overgrown lizard shouting in your mind."

Merlin's eyes widened in shock as he realised the implication of what Arthur had just said.

"You heard it too?" he asked apprehensively, unsure he really wanted to know the answer.

"Well it was kind of hard to miss, he is really loud."

Merlin scoffed again but still didn't understand how Arthur had heard. He had set up his blocks to remain in place even when he was sleeping and prevent Arthur from hearing the dragon's constant interruptions. A quick check told him they were still in place and Merlin couldn't understand how Arthur had heard.

Arthur was keeping quiet however his thoughts gave the game away. Merlin's eyes narrowed unhappily as he realised what Arthur had been doing.

"You were spying on my dreams!" He exclaimed outraged.

Arthur hushed Merlin quickly, very aware of how thin the wall separating them from Gaius was. However before he could defend his actions a piercing pain shot through his head. He pulled back with a cry and grabbed his head with his hands. He vaguely registered that Merlin also seemed to be gripping his head before the pain redoubled and he let out a groan of agony.

Merlin half noticed that the room seemed to be shaking but the pain cursing through his head blocked out any other thoughts. Bright lights flashed around the room and a small corner of Merlin brain told him that it was the same red, purple and gold that had been present when the magic had escaped Arthur however the rest of his mind was thrumming in agony and didn't really care. He truly felt as if his head was going to burst and he squeezed his eyes shut to block out the dazzling light, pulling his knees up to his chest and rocking back and forward.

* * *

Morgana sat bolt upright, a scream falling from her lips. A searing pain shot around her skull and she let out a small sob as she cradled her head in her hands. At the edge of her consciousness she noticed Gwen hurry to her side but her focus was on the stabbing pain shooting through her head. She felt wetness on her cheeks and realised that tears were pouring down her face but she couldn't move her hands to wipe them away.

As suddenly as the pain had arrived it disappeared, leaving a stunned Morgana behind. She gasped, inhaling deep lungfuls of air desperately. She noticed the soothing hand rubbing circles on her back and she looked up into Gwen's anxious face. Glancing round her room she realised she was safe and sighed in relief.

"Are you alright My Lady?" Gwen asked, her voice full of worry.

Morgana closed her eyes and calmed her raging mind. Once she had got her thoughts under control she realised that her mind felt strangely empty. A smile spread across her face, much to Gwen's confusion, as she realised that the boys must have finally gotten their act together.

"I'm much better now Gwen. Everything's going to be just fine." She replied smiling warmly.

* * *

Both boys relaxed as the pain ebbed away. They stayed frozen for a moment, fearful that the pain would return. However once it was clear that it was over Arthur slowly opened his eyes and glanced at Merlin. The younger boy still had his knees drawn up to his chest and was tentatively lifting his head out of his hands. Arthur noticed how vulnerable Merlin looked and once again wanted to take care of the younger boy, it was almost a big brotherly need to protect his sibling that Arthur had never experienced before, creating an unfamiliar warm feeling in his midriff.

Blinking rapidly Merlin unfolded from his curled up position. His vision cleared and he was slightly startled to see that Arthur was looking like a vulnerable child and imagined that this open expression was how he used to look before Uther managed to stamp the need to hide all emotions behind an impenetrable mask into him. He quickly clamped down on these thoughts, not wanting Arthur to hear and tease him, or send him to the stocks. However the moment he did this he realised his mind seemed rather quiet and empty for the first time in weeks. Frowning deeply he looked up at Arthur, who didn't seem to have noticed anything.

_Arthur? _He asked but received no reply. _Can you hear me?_

Merlin's frown deepened as there was no response from Arthur. He searched in his mind for where the comforting presence had resided for the last month and found that he was left with only his thoughts.

"It's gone." He stated simply, a hint of sadness in his voice.

Arthur's brow crinkled as he tried to process what Merlin was talking about but drew a blank. He didn't think that they had been talking about anything that would make Merlin's words make sense. Although he wasn't upset about the change in subject as it meant he didn't have to explain why he was snooping in the other boy's dreams.

_What are you talking about? _He asked bemused.

His confusion deepened as he realised that there was no reply from Merlin, it was as if the other boy hadn't even heard him. Arthur pressed on the link to see why Merlin wasn't listening to him and paused in shock as what Merlin had said finally made sense, the link had gone.

"How?" He asked quietly.

"Well I presume it's probably the fact that we finally told each other everything." Merlin replied, smiling patronisingly.

Arthur huffed in annoyance and plonked himself down on the bed next to Merlin, almost pushing said boy over the other side. Merlin stuck his tongue out at Arthur and readjusted his position so they both fit on the cramped bed. Both boys sat in silence readjusting to the fact that they now had their minds all to themselves. They had both come to the conclusion that it was gone for good and, although that was what they had been trying to achieve the whole time they had been bonded, they had gotten so used to the ever present company that they were both quite sad that it was gone.

Merlin sighed and closed his eyes, leaning his head on the wall behind him. Exhaustion was filling him up once again and he wanted nothing more than to curl up under his covers and return to sleep. However he was all too aware that Arthur was still in the room and he couldn't find a polite way of kicking him out.

Fortunately, Arthur was also feeling the stresses of the past couple of days catching up with him and he could feel himself almost drifting off to sleep where he sat. He shook himself and staggered up from the bed, his legs feeling like jelly didn't help his attempts to make it look dignified. Luckily for him Merlin still had his eyes closed and didn't see his blunder.

Looking down at the younger boy Arthur noticed his brow furrowed with worry and realised he should probably say something comforting. However a large part of him just wanted to run from the room and not have to deal with the emotional moment.

"Don't worry about the dragon, together we can keep him in place." Arthur said gruffly and Merlin opened his eyes to survey the other boy, "And I'm sure Morgana would help. She'd take any opportunity to vent her anger by shouting at someone, and at least this way it won't be me."

Merlin laughed at this, imagining Morgana stood in the cave ranting at the great dragon; he could definitely see her doing that.

"I'd better get going back." Arthur's voice cut through Merlin's images, "Although you couldn't lend me a tunic could you? I don't really want to be caught wandering around the castle dressed like this, people might get the wrong idea."

For the first time Merlin noticed Arthur's sate of undress and he had a strong urge to refuse and make the prince suffer. However he realised that it would probably result in him in the stocks, again. Although he did now have the best blackmail in the form of Arthur's favourite insect.

"Sure." He murmured before reaching down to where his pile of tunics normally was.

He froze as he realised that the clothing under his hand wasn't what was usually next to his bed. As he glanced around the room he realised that his organised chaos wasn't the way it normally was, in fact everything seemed to be even more chaotic than normal. It was almost as if someone had rearranged his carefully organised mess. Both Gaius and Arthur moaned that he needed to tidy his room but he always knew where everything was. Now, however he didn't have a clue.

He glanced up at Arthur in despair and frowned at the triumphant look on the prince's face. Suddenly he realised who the source of this change was. A plan for revenge had already half formed in the young warlock's mind when he reflected that this was probably payback for the spiders he had left there that day. Although Arthur definitely hadn't been in his room all day so wouldn't have had the chance to do it. In fact the last time he had been in here was when he was recovering from the magic and Merlin had discovered him sleeping in his bed.

His heart sank as he realised that this was probably Arthur's revenge for Merlin locking him in whilst he went about his jobs. He reasoned that if this was the case then he'd already unwittingly had his revenge with the spiders that day, although it would still be fun to wipe that smug look of the prince's face.

"What can I say, karma's a bitch." Arthur said to an annoyed Merlin, a wicked smile on his face.


	22. Chapter 21 slash

_**So this is the slash ending for all those Merthur fans out there. This is my first attempt at slash so I'd love to know what you think of it. Thanks everyone for reading. Enjoy. x**_

**__****Btw sorry about Arthur's mysterious reappearing shirt, I just realised I changed it on the original when I noticed it but not on the one I had uploaded to fanfiction, stupid I know. Anyway thanks to everyone who pointed it out and it now should be changed, I hope. x**

_

* * *

_

Previously

_I don't need anything else Merlin. You deserve a break after everything that's happened, god knows I need one._

_So can I have tomorrow off then? _Merlin asked hopefully.

_You don't deserve that much off a break Merlin. How would I ever punish you for all the spiders that magically appear in my room if I give you the day off?_

* * *

Arthur groaned as he rolled over for what seemed like the hundredth time that night. Although he could feel the exhaustion pouring through his body, sleep was evading him. He flopped onto his back and stared blankly up at the ceiling above him. His mind was running over all that had happened since Morgana had bonded the three of them together and, try as he might, he couldn't get it to shut up. He knew his buzzing mind was what was preventing him from sleeping but he couldn't tune out.

Giving up on sleep he pushed his covers aside and swung his legs out of bed. Stretching his arms above his head he moved over to the table and poured some water into a nearby goblet. Arthur took a deep swig as he moved towards the window, pushing the curtain aside. Staring out at the moonlit town below he sighed wearily. He lent his head against the cool pane of glass, closing his eyes in exhaustion. He felt tired standing there but knew if he went back to bed he wouldn't be able to sleep.

Frustrated he pushed away from the window and slumped into a chair. He briefly considered doing something productive as he couldn't sleep, but that idea was quickly pushed aside; he was in no state to complete the pile of reports lying unfinished on his desk. He cast round for something to occupy himself with and growled in annoyance as he found that Merlin was sound asleep. The boy spent weeks looking like death warmed up due to lack of sleep and then the one night Arthur can't sleep either, he magically manages to fall asleep. Arthur had a sneaking suspicion that magic, much to his annoyance, was probably the reason behind it.

He let his mind cast back casually over the last month, as it seemed so keen to do. Arthur closed his eyes and sank back into the chair, letting the memories wash over him. Reaching one memory his eyes snapped open and he sat bolt upright, a smile spreading wickedly across his face. Now he had something to occupy himself with; he was going to spy on Merlin's dreams.

Feeling rather pleased with himself Arthur leant forward on the chair, cradling his goblet between both hands. Now he thought about it properly Arthur realised that when Merlin had released his blocks and told him about his magic he had failed to mention the reason behind his lack of sleep. Well Arthur wasn't going to have that; he was going to find out what it was.

However after settling himself into a more comfortable position on the chair he realised he didn't have a clue how to go about spying on the other boy's dreams. He took another swig from the cup and closed his eyes, concentrating on Merlin's presence in his mind.

At first he was met with nothingness but as he pushed further into Merlin's mind he felt a wave of images wash over him. A triumphant smile spread across his face as he realised he was actually watching Merlin's dreams. However the images were flashing past him so fast that it was hard for him to determine what any of the actually were. He saw flashes of him and Merlin fighting another magical creature, a sword at the bottom of a lake guarded by a dark haired woman who seemed familiar to Arthur though he couldn't place her, Merlin being pushed against a wall by Arthur with their lips crushed together, the pair of them riding out of Camelot, a crown on Arthur's head and a staff in Merlin's hand.

Arthur sat bolt upright, the goblet falling from his limp hand, as he backtracked and realised what he'd just seen. His mind whirled and he lost his concentration, breaking the link. Ignoring the water that was slowly seeping into the rug, Arthur gripped the arms of his chair as his brain tried to catch up.

A large part of his mind was still trying to deny what he'd seen. He'd spent the last month stuck in Merlin's head, surely he would have noticed if Merlin had felt that way. He remembered back to the moment in the forest when he had thought something had flashed between him and Merlin but he had thought he had heard Merlin's silent rejection. Maybe he had misread the thought; maybe Merlin hadn't thought that Arthur would 'return his feelings'. Elation filled him as he started to convince himself of this; for if he could hide his feelings for his manservant from said boy, then why couldn't Merlin have also been hiding his feelings.

Common sense brought Arthur back to reality as he realised he had jumped to this conclusion with only the flash from Merlin's dream to go on. Determined to see more Arthur settled back into his chair, deciding he had better gather more proof before he confronted Merlin. Closing his eyes he easily slipped back into Merlin's dreams once again, following the path in his mind he had taken last time.

This time he knew that he needed to gain more control of the images if he was to see the whole of that scene. His brow furrowed with concentration as he tried to grab hold of the images. However every time he tried to focus on one image it seemed to jump away from him, much like things tend to do in dreams.

A throbbing pain started in the back of Arthur's mind as he attempted time after time to capture an image. He opened his eyes with a growl of annoyance, sinking his head into his hands. The pain in the back of his head seemed to increase and he rubbed his forehead fruitlessly, trying to clear his mind. It felt almost like someone was trying to scream at him inside his head. However Merlin was fast asleep and Morgana was across the other side of the castle, too far away for their link to be substantial.

Unsure of anyone else who would be able to access his mind Arthur pushed the worrying thought away and returned back to the problem in hand. Closing his eyes he leant back in his chair and returned to Merlin's mind. Deciding to try a new tactic Arthur let the images wash over him, waiting for the one he really wanted to see. Soon enough, through the random images Merlin's mind seemed to have produced, Arthur found the one he had been looking for.

Instead of trying to grab it to his attention this time, Arthur let the image grow stronger in his mind, focusing all his concentration on it. Finally the other images faded away and Arthur was left with only one. He hesitated, unsure what he was supposed to do now. However before he had the chance to try anything, he was thrown headfirst into the image as it filled his mind, almost as if he was having the dream not Merlin.

He watched as dream-Arthur pinned dream Merlin against the wall, crashing their lips together. He worried for a moment that this image was a reflection of Merlin's fears of Arthur forcing himself upon him. However the low moan of pleasure that came from the young warlock banished that thought. Dream Merlin's arms snaked around dream Arthur's waist and he pulled the prince closer...

_Merlin!_

Arthur was jolted out of the image by a bellowing voice echoing through his mind. He sat bolt upright in shock, angry that he hadn't been able to see how Merlin's dream was going to pan out.

_Merlin!_

The insistent voice came again, louder this time. His manservant's name echoed around his mind and he felt the ache in the back of his head grow. All thoughts of the dream forgotten Arthur tried to find the source of the voice. He cast round his mind, sure that it was in his head and not outside. Something told him that the pain in his head was related to the strange voice.

MERLIN!

Arthur gripped his head in his hands tightly. He felt like his head was about to split in half and he clutched at it, trying to hold it together. The pain, which had started at the back of his head, was now pulsing through his skull.

He didn't know how long he sat there like that but eventually it ebbed away and Arthur found himself able to function again. Massaging his temples he sat up with a groan. He didn't understand who the deep earthy voice belonged to but knew that whoever it was, they weren't pleased with his manservant.

Arthur felt something change in his mind and checked the link to Merlin. His eyes widened as he saw the sudden change. Merlin, who had been sleeping peacefully last time Arthur looked, was tossing and turning fitfully in anguish. More images flashed through Arthur's mind however these had a decisively darker feel to them.

Camelot burning, the great dragon swooping low overhead, people running and screaming, Merlin crying over a limp figure.

Arthur was out of his chair in a shot and halfway down the corridor before he even registered what he was doing. He knew that this was the reason Merlin hadn't been sleeping and he had an overwhelming urge to help him. Arthur swiftly stalked down the corridor towards Merlin's room.

He paused as he turned the corner, realising what a sight he must make. He hadn't thought to change before he went charging through the castle so he was only wearing the under trousers he had gone to bed in. He realised that he was going to have to watch out to make sure that no one saw him like this. It would do for people to see the crown prince wandering around the castle shirtless.

He continued through the winding corridors, ducking round corners and into dark alcoves when he spotted any servants walking past. He didn't understand how they could still be up at this time of night; it was way past midnight which, in Arthur's opinion, was not an hour people should be awake.

He reached Gaius' chambers and hesitated outside the door. The realisation of what he was actually doing hit Arthur at that moment. He paused, wondering whether he should just turn back and return to bed. But the anguish that was pouring through the bond from Merlin pushed him forward. He had never been one to back down so he gently pushed the door open, careful not to let it creak too loud.

Stepping inside Arthur surveyed the familiar room and spotted Gaius asleep on the bed in the corner. Moving slowly he made his way past the many obstacles that seemed to be strewn randomly around the room but Arthur knew that Gaius always had an order to the chaos. He picked his way round the table, careful not to knock anything off.

He made it across the room without incident and hesitated once again outside the door to Merlin's small room. He could hear his manservant's cries of distress through the door and was surprised that Gaius had managed to sleep through it. Throwing a quick glance at his sleeping figure Arthur pushed the door open and entered the room, closing the door behind him.

He surveyed the room and wrinkled his nose in distaste; he couldn't quite believe that he had actually slept in here the day before. It was clear Merlin still hadn't attempted to tidy the mess over his floor and Arthur had to pick his way carefully through the chaos to make sure as not to fall over anything.

Eventually he reached Merlin's side and his gaze landed on the boy in the bed next to him. Merlin was thrashing around, tangled up in his sheets with sweat pouring off him. Arthur could still hear the voice in his head shouting Merlin's name but he was successfully blocking the worst of it out, he realised that it was probably ten times worse for the young warlock.

Arthur hesitated, unsure as to what should be his next move. He knew he had to break Merlin out of the dream that seemed to have him captive, but he wasn't really sure how to go about it. He tried to shake Merlin's shoulder but the boy was writhing around so much that Arthur couldn't get a grip on him.

"Merlin!" He hissed quietly.

He was very aware that Gaius was asleep in the next room and that if he found Arthur in Merlin's chambers dressed as he was it wouldn't bode well for either of them.

"Merlin!" He repeated, louder this time.

However it had as little effect as it had had the first time. Merlin was well and truly stuck in his dream and Arthur bit his lip in worry, surveying the boy below. Despite the situation he had to admit that the other boy was captivating. His pale cheeks were flushed and his sweat-soaked skin seemed to glow in the dim light. Arthur had to fight the uncontrollable urge to softly push Merlin's hair out of his eyes.

Regaining control on his urges Arthur rubbed his forehead in despair trying to decide what to do next. Never one for subtlety Arthur went for blunt force.

_MERLIN!_

Said boy shot bolt upright as Arthur's words echoed through his head. Eyes wide they darted around the room as he tried to bring his still sleep-fuddled brain to the present. His head was reeling as he tried to process what was going on but he couldn't quite get a grip on reality.

Firm hands grasped his shoulders and he let out a gasp of shock. His eyes darted to the figure next to him and they landed on a face full of worry. It took him a moment to realise that the person was Arthur. A small part of his brain was fumbling round for a reason as to why he was there while another part was just celebrating the fact that he was and was looking so concerned.

However the main part of his mind was still in the dream. It had seemed so real that part of him believed that what he was seeing at the moment was actually the dream, for why else would Arthur be in his room wearing practically nothing if it wasn't a dream.

"The dragon...I can't do it...I can't set him free." Merlin babbled.

Arthur frowned as he tried to make sense of Merlin's ramblings. He realised that the voice that had been screaming in his head must have been the dragon under the castle. But why was Merlin talking about setting him free, surely he couldn't be that stupid?

"Not stupid...I promised...needed his help to save you." Merlin mumbled, his eyelids drooping.

Arthur saw he was about to fall back asleep and he shook the slender boy gently.

"Merlin? What do you mean you promised?" He asked softly.

"Needed spell...promised him...but I can't, I can't."

Arthur could feel Merlin shaking beneath his hands and fought the urge to pull the fragile boy into his arms.

"I saw it...saw what he'll do...crystal...kill them..." Merlin trailed off.

His eyes bored into Arthur's and he seemed to be trying to make the prince understand something but Arthur didn't really have a clue what he was trying to say. Fortunately the message coming through the link was much clearer. Arthur saw Merlin talking to the dragon, making a promise to free him in exchange for the way to defeat Sigan. He saw the two of them camping after defeating the druids. Saw Merlin succumb to temptation and look into the crystal. Images flashed across his mind and he knew this was what Merlin had seen.

He glanced back at Merlin, his eyes wide in shock. It had been over three months since they had gotten back from retrieving the crystal and Arthur couldn't believe that Merlin had been carrying this alone all that time.

_Had to...couldn't let you know. Needed to protect you._

Merlin's disjointed thoughts floated through the link and into Arthur's mind. Arthur didn't understand half of Merlin's babbling but he understood that the other boy seemed to feel the need to carry everything on his shoulders. He sighed at Merlin's stubbornness, that boy was impossible sometimes.

"Merlin I don't need you to protect me, I am perfectly capable of looking after myself you know." He replied.

Arthur raised his eyebrows as Merlin scoffed at his comment.

_It's for your own good...had to deal with it myself._

"Merlin you are an idiot, you don't have to deal with everything on your own." Arthur scolded.

Merlin eyes widened more at the use of the fond insult. Part of him had still believed that this was a dream but it was such an Arthur-like comment that Merlin was having trouble believing that still. Without breaking their eye contact he hesitantly reached one hand up to touch Arthur's face. His fingertips contacted with the soft skin and he let out a gasp of surprise. He was now faced with the incontestable fact that this wasn't a dream, or it was the most realistic dream he had ever had.

A small frown creased Arthur's face as he watched Merlin's strange actions however he didn't do anything to stop the other boy. He felt Merlin's fingers brush his cheek and shivered at the contact. It was taking all of his restraint not to jump the other boy but he knew that Merlin was still half asleep and Arthur didn't like the thought of taking advantage of him.

"It is you." Merlin whispered softly, "You are really here."

The innocent delight in Merlin's voice sent shivers down Arthur's spine and he felt his self control snap. Ignoring reason and the consequences Arthur let his heart rule his head and lent forward, brushing his lips against Merlin's. He felt the other boy freeze and pulled back with a sad sigh.

Merlin blinked up at Arthur in shock, not really being able to believe that this had just happened. He felt the urge to pinch himself to make sure that he definitely wasn't dreaming. He was frozen in amazement and he saw Arthur sigh resignedly and pull back. Not wanting Arthur to leave Merlin grabbed the closest part of the prince he could reach, which happened to be the top of his trousers, preventing him from leaving. Surprise filled Arthur's eyes but he remained still, waiting for Merlin to make the next move.

The young warlock shook his head slightly, trying to clear the fogginess that still remained having just woken up. Whilst he was doing this he moved the hand on Arthur cheek to trace his fingertips along the prince's lips. He smiled as he heard Arthur gasp softly at his touch. He watched Arthur for a moment before replacing his fingers with his lips.

Arthur felt his heart leap as Merlin returned the kiss this time. However before he could deepen the kiss a piercing pain shot through his head. He pulled back with a cry and grabbed his head with his hands. He vaguely registered that Merlin also seemed to be gripping his head before the pain redoubled and he let out a groan of agony.

Merlin half noticed that the room seemed to be shaking but the pain cursing through his head blocked out any other thoughts. Bright lights flashed around the room and a small corner of Merlin brain told him that it was the same red, purple and gold that had been present when the magic had escaped Arthur, however the rest of his mind was thrumming in agony and didn't really care. He truly felt as if his head was going to burst and he squeezed his eyes shut to block out the dazzling light, pulling his knees up to his chest and rocking back and forth.

* * *

Morgana sat bolt upright, a scream falling from her lips. A searing pain shot around her skull and she let out a small sob as she cradled her head in her hands. At the edge of her consciousness she noticed Gwen hurry to her side but her focus was on the stabbing pain shooting through her head. She felt wetness on her cheeks and realised that tears were pouring down her face but she couldn't move her hands to wipe them away.

As suddenly as the pain had arrived it disappeared leaving a stunned Morgana behind. She gasped, inhaling deep lungfuls of air desperately. She noticed the soothing hand rubbing circles on her back and she looked up into Gwen's anxious face. Glancing round her room she realised she was safe and sighed in relief.

"Are you alright My Lady?" Gwen asked, her voice full of worry.

Morgana closed her eyes and calmed her raging mind. Once she had got her thoughts under control she realised that her mind felt strangely empty. A smile spread across her face, much to Gwen's confusion, as she realised that the boys must have finally gotten their act together.

"I'm much better now Gwen. Everything's going to be just fine." She replied smiling warmly.

* * *

Both boys relaxed as the pain ebbed away. They stayed frozen for a moment, fearful that the pain would return. However once it was clear that it was over Arthur slowly opened his eyes and glanced at Merlin. The younger boy still had his knees drawn up to his chest and was tentatively lifting his head out of his hands. Arthur smiled at how cute Merlin looked when he was vulnerable.

Blinking rapidly Merlin unfolded from his curled up position. His vision cleared and he was slightly startled to see that Arthur was so close in front of him. His breath hitched as he took in the magnificent sight the prince made. He quickly clamped down on his thoughts, not wanting Arthur to hear and tease him. However the moment he did this he realised his mind seemed rather quiet and empty for the first time in weeks. Frowning deeply he looked up at Arthur, who didn't seem to have noticed anything.

_Arthur? _He asked but received no reply. _Can you hear me?_

Merlin's frown deepened as there was no response from Arthur. He searched in his mind for where the comforting presence had resided for the last month and found that he was left with only his own thoughts.

"It's gone." He stated simply, a hint of sadness in his voice.

Arthur's brow crinkled as he tried to process what Merlin was talking about but drew a blank. He didn't think that they had been talking about anything that would make Merlin's words make sense. In fact as he remembered talking wasn't at the forefront of his mind before the pain hit.

_What are you talking about? _He asked bemused.

His confusion deepened as he realised that there was no reply from Merlin, it was as if the other boy hadn't even heard him. Arthur pressed on the link to see why Merlin wasn't listening to him and paused in shock as what Merlin had said finally made sense, the link had gone.

"How?" He asked quietly.

"Well I presume it's probably the fact that we finally told each other everything." Merlin replied, smiling endearingly.

Arthur smirked and moved to sit on the bed in front of Merlin. They could sort out what had happened with the link later but it was clear it was gone for good. For now Arthur had a much more interesting past time in mind.

Merlin marvelled at the handsome man in front of him. He couldn't quite believe his luck that the prince returned his feelings but there was still a seed of doubt in his mind. As Arthur moved closer Merlin felt the need to confirm that this was actually happening.

"You're sure...cos I don't want you to feel you have to...I mean I'm not exactly..."

Arthur pressed his lips to Merlin's, cutting off his manservant's ramblings. Merlin sighed in delight as his dreams finally became reality and he let himself fall into Arthur's kiss. Arthur pulled back slightly and gazed into the young warlock's eyes.

"Idiot." He muttered fondly, planting another kiss on his lips, "My idiot."

Tired of the lack of contact Merlin pulled Arthur back towards him, crashing their lips together.


End file.
